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Stocks signaled a moderately higher open Monday ahead of data on the housing market.

After stocks retreated last week, investors are looking to housing for clues about the economy. The National Association of Home Builders is set to release its index of builders’ confidence for May at 1 p.m. Eastern.

There was some upbeat news on housing. Lowe’s Cos., the nation’s second largest home improvement chain, posted a 22 percent drop in its first-quarter earnings but results topped Wall Street’s forecasts.

Investors also looked to bank stocks. State Street Corp. said it plans to raise funds through stock and debt offerings as part of an effort to repay the $2 billion the government loaned as part of its financial rescue last fall. State Street said it expects to raise $1.45 billion from the stock offer alone.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 38, or 0.5 percent, to 8,305. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 5.50, or 0.6 percent, to 888.50, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 6.75, or 0.5 percent, to 1,361.00.

Last week, the Dow industrials fell 3.6 percent, the S&P 500 index lost 5 percent and the Nasdaq fell 3.4 percent as investors worried that the economy’s recovery might be further off than hoped after stocks rallied since hitting 12-year lows more than two months ago.

Bond prices mostly rose early Monday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.12 percent from 3.14 percent late Friday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Light, sweet crude rose 96 cents to $57.30 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Stocks overseas were mixed following weak corporate earnings reports in Asia. In a bright spot, India’s index surged 17 percent after investors saw election results as paving the way for economic reforms. Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 2.4 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.9 percent, Germany’s DAX index rose less than 0.1 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.3 percent.

Beyond the housing sales report, Wall Street will be looking this week to data Tuesday on housing construction and regional manufacturing on Thursday.

Investors are looking for signs that the economy is starting to recover, not simply slow its descent. At the start of the market’s 30 percent rally since the lows of March 9 investors were willing to scoop up stocks when the economy signaled it might be stabilizing. But now, after the rally, analysts say more will be needed to carry the market higher.

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