Dow down 178 pts at 13340

CNBC-‘s Mike Huckman - The day begins with the Empire State Manufacturing survey, which assesses business conditions in New York and expectations of the state’s manufacturing executives.

The National Association of Home Builders releases its housing market index, which tracks current and upcoming sales of single family homes in the US.

President Bush is scheduled to make some remarks on the economy at an appearance in Virginia. Meanwhile, Boston hosts a democratic Presidential debate, which is the last debate of either party till after the New Hampshire primaries and Iowa caucuses, and today is expected to be the busiest mailing day of the year.

The US post office will process nearly 1 billion cards, letters, packages and magazines. FedEx anticipates a 6% increase over the nearly 10 million packages that it shipped on last year’s busiest day.

So, the Dow begins the day at 13,340 after Friday’s 178-point drop and Nasdaq starts at 2,636 having slid 33 points.