U.S. Stocks May Continue To Experience Choppy Trading

Following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session, stocks may continue to experience choppy trading early on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may continue to stick to the sidelines as they wait for the earnings reporting season to pick up steam in the coming days.

While a number of big-name companies have already reported their quarterly results, traders may wait until later this week to form an overall opinion of the quarter.

IBM Corp. (IBM) and Netflix (NFLX) are among the companies reporting their results after the close of today’s trading, while Procter & Gamble (PG), Tesla (TSLA), AT&T (T), American Express (AXP), and Verizon (VZ) are also due to repot their results this week.

Insurance giant Travelers (TRV) reported its first quarter results before the start of today’s trading and is seeing notable pre-market weakness despite reporting earnings that beat analyst estimates.

Shares of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) may also move to the downside after the healthcare giant reported better than expected first quarter earnings but lowered its full-year guidance.

Meanwhile, shares of Hasbro (HAS) are likely to see initial strength after the toy maker reported first quarter earnings that missed analyst estimates but raised its full-year profit forecast.

In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing new residential construction expectedly saw modest growth in the month of March.

The report showed housing starts rose by 0.3 percent to an annual rate of 1.793 million in March after spiking by 6.5 percent to a revised rate of 1.788 million in February.

The uptick surprised economists, who had expected housing starts to fall by 1.4 percent to a rate of 1.745 million from the 1.769 million originally reported for the previous month.

The Commerce Department said building permits also climbed by 0.4 percent to an annual rate of 1.873 million in March after slumping by 1.6 to a revised rate of 1.865 million in February.

Building permits, an indicator of future housing demand, had been expected tumble by 1.8 percent to a rate of 1.825 million from the 1.859 million originally reported for the previous month.

With many traders sticking to the sidelines following the long, holiday weekend, stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading session on Monday. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line following the sharp pullback seen last Thursday.

The major averages eventually ended the session modestly lower. The Dow slipped 39.54 points or 0.1 percent to 34,411.69, the Nasdaq dipped 18.72 points or 0.1 percent to 13,332.36 and the S&P 500 edged down 0.90 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 4,391.69.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.7 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged by 2.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index has slumped by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are tumbling $2.62 to $105.59 a barrel after jumping $1.26 to $108.21 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after climbing $11.50 to $1,986.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $4.70 to $1,981.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 128.28 yen compared to the 126.99 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0797 compared to yesterday’s $1.0782.

Business News