U.S. Stocks May See Initial Strength On Upbeat Earnings News

Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, stocks are likely to move mostly higher in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to initial strength on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.6 percent.

The markets may benefit from a positive reaction to the latest batch of earnings news, as a number of big-name companies reported better than expected quarterly results.

Shares of General Electric (GE) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the conglomerate reported third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates and raised its full-year guidance.

Diversified manufacturer 3M Co. (MMM) is also seeing notable pre-market strength after reporting better than expected third quarter results and boosting its full-year profit forecast.

Shares of Coca-Cola (KO) are also likely to move to the upside after the beverage giant reported third quarter results that beat expectations and raised its full-year forecast.

However, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued as traders look ahead to release of quarterly results from tech giants Alphabet (GOOGL) and Microsoft (MSFT) after the close of trading.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves amid a lack of major U.S. economic data, with several key reports due to be released in the coming days.

Stocks recovered from an initial move to the downside but gave back ground in the latter part of the trading session on Monday. The major averages eventually ended the day mixed, with the Dow and the S&P 500 falling to their lowest closing levels in over four months.

While the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 34.52 points or 0.3 percent to 13,018.33, bouncing off a nearly five-month intraday low, the S&P 500 dipped 7.12 points or 0.2 percent to 4,217.04 and the Dow fell 190.87 points or 0.6 percent to 32,936.41.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.15 to $85.64 a barrel after plunging $2.59 to $85.49 on Monday. Meanwhile, after slipping $6.60 to $1,987.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $10.10 to $1,977.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.79 yen compared to the 149.71 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0624 compared to yesterday’s $1.0670.