US stock market investors are getting nervous about the future. The last quarter was disappointing , sending blue-chip Dow and Standard & Poor’s 500 down 2.6%, and Nasdaq 8.1%.

Now the market expects leads from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan who could direct investors by offering hints in his three speeches expected this week.

His first appearance will be via satellite when he will talk to the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association’s International Petrochemical Conference in San Antonio, Texas, addressing energy issues.

The next day he will speak to the Senate Banking Committee on the proposed reform of overnment-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs.

The week will be concluded by Greenspan’s talk on consumer finance at a Fed-sponsored community affairs conference in Washington.

"A lot of traders are very nervous. They don’t know which way to jump," said Michael Metz, chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer & Co.

"It’s an environment where there is really no external stimulus, so you watch the market action itself to see what it’s signaling to traders -- whether they should buy more or unload."

The employment report indicated the appearance of 110,000 non-farm jobs in the U.S. economy generated in March, against economists’ forecasts of 220,000 new jobs. Hourly wages added 0.3% , and these are about the only data market relies on. Lack of important corporate and economic data will increase the importance of leads from Greenspan this week.