Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

After ending the previous session mostly lower but well off their worst levels, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading 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 just 0.1 percent.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves amid uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following recent volatility.

Stocks fell sharply following the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy announcement last Wednesday but rebounded to record highs over the following two sessions only to pullback sharply once again in early trading on Monday.

While the major averages climbed well off yesterday’s early lows, fading optimism the Fed will lower interest rates in March continues to hang over the markets.

A lack of major U.S. economic data may also keep some traders on the sidelines, although remarks by several Fed officials may attract attention later in the day.

Among individual stocks, shares of Spotify (SPOT) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the audio streaming service provider reported stronger than expected fourth quarter subscriber growth and provided upbeat guidance.

Drug maker Eli Lilly (LLY) may also see initial strength after reporting fourth quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Meanwhile, shares of Tesla (TSLA) may move to the downside after Daiwa downgraded its rating on the electric vehicle maker’s stock to Neutral from Outperform.

Following the rally seen to close out the previous week, stocks showed a significant pullback during morning trading on Monday. The major averages staged a recovery attempt over the course of the afternoon but still finished the day in negative territory.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dipped 31.28 points or 0.2 percent to 15,597.68 after falling as much as 1.0 percent in early trading. The S&P 500 fell 15.80 points or 0.3 percent to 4,942.81, while the narrower Dow remained more firmly in the red, closing down 274.30 points or 0.7 percent at 38,380.12.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.5 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index spiked by 3.2 percent and 4.0 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has climbed by 0.7 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.49 to $73.27 a barrel after climbing $0.50 to $72.78 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after falling $10.80 to $2,042.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $0.90 to $2,043.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 148.54 yen compared to the 148.68 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0732 compared to yesterday’s $1.0743.

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