Stocks point to flat open as investors await details on government ’stress tests’ for banks

Stocks signal flat open as focus turns to banks

NEW YORK — Stock futures are little changed as investors await details on how the government is evaluating the health of the nation’s largest banks.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected on Friday to outline the methodology for the “stress tests” that regulators have given to 19 of the largest U.S. financial institutions.

Investors also will look to the government for data on new home sales and orders for big-ticket manufactured items. Earnings reports are also due from Ford Motor Co., 3M Co., and Xerox Corp.

Dow Jones industrial average futures are down 8, or 0.1 percent, to 7,907. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures slipped 0.50, or 0.1 percent, to 848.60, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 1.00, or 0.1 percent, to 1,343.00.