Futures Pointing To Another Mixed Performance On Wall Street

Futures Pointing To Another Mixed Performance On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a mixed open on Tuesday, as the Dow futures are down by 0.2 percent but the Nasdaq futures are up by 0.4 percent.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday as investors stayed largely cautious ahead of some crucial economic data, including a report on personal income & spending due later in the week.

Among the major averages, the Dow closed higher, extending gains to a fifth straight session. The index ended up by 260.88 points or 0.67 percent at 39,411.21. The Nasdaq ended at 17,496.82, losing 192.54 points or 1.09 percent. The S&P 500 settled at 5,447.87, down 16.75 points or 0.31 percent from the previous close.

Several companies, including Nike, Micron Technology, Carnival and Wallgreens Boots Alliance, are scheduled to announce their quarterly results during this week.

On Friday, the Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending in the month of May, which includes readings on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

The report, which is expected to show a modest slowdown by the annual rate of consumer price growth, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.

Reports on new home sales, consumer confidence, durable goods orders and pending home sales may also attract attention in the coming days.

Investors are also looking ahead to the presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump this week.

Nvidia Corporation shares tumbled 6.7 percent, sliding once again on profit taking. Dell Technologies and QualComm, both ended lower by more than 5 percent.

Amazon, Broadcom, Oracle Corporation, Home Depot, Netflix, Adobe, Salesforce.Inc. and Intel lost 1 to 3 percent.

Berkshire Hathway, JP Morgan Chase, Walmart, Exxon Mobil, UnitedHealth Group, Merck, Bank of America, Chevorn, Coca-Cola, Wells Fargo, Verizon, IBM, Pfizer, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and Boeing gained 1 to 4 percent.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.43 to $81.20 a barrel after jumping $0.90 to $81.63 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after climbing $13.20 to $2,344.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $2.70 to $2,341.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.61 yen compared to the 159.62 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0709 compared to yesterday’s $1.0773.

Asia

Asian stocks recovered from an early slide to end mostly higher on Tuesday after China’s Premier Li Qiang said the country is capable of achieving the full year growth target of around 5 percent.

The dollar was firm in Asian trading and gold dipped while oil was little changed after closing higher in the previous session on supply concerns stemming from tensions in the Middle East and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.

China’s Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.44 percent to 2,950 ahead of May industrial profits and June manufacturing survey results due this weekend.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended 0.25 percent higher at 18,072.90 – recovering from an early slide after reports emerged that the Biden Administration was investigating major Chinese telecom firms over potential security concerns.

Japanese markets ended sharply higher ahead of Tokyo inflation data due on Friday. The reading assumes significance after the minutes of the Bank of Japan’s latest meeting showed debate among board members on rate hikes.

The Nikkei average jumped 0.95 percent to 39,173.15, reaching a five-month high as the yen rose for the second straight session against the dollar, helping ease some concerns over possible government intervention in the currency market. The broader Topix index settled 1.72 percent higher at 2,787.37.

Seoul stocks eked out modest gains despite tech stocks coming under selling pressure following recent gains.

The Kospi average rose 0.35 percent to 2,774.39, with automaker Hyundai Motor surging 2.7 percent as investors awaited the outcome of a bilateral finance minister meeting with Japan.

Australian markets climbed as firmer commodity prices boosted mining and energy stocks. Investors awaited Wednesday’s CPI reading after a measure of Australian consumer sentiment improved slightly in June.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 rallied 1.36 percent to 7,838.80 while the broader All Ordinaries index closed up 1.28 percent at 8,076.90.

Banking behemoth Commonwealth rose 1.4 percent to hit a new record high. Uranium miner Paladin Energy lost 5.1 percent after it agreed to buy Canada’s Fission Uranium.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 index settled 0.76 percent higher at 11,716.44.

Europe

European stocks fell in cautious trade on Tuesday, a day after French President Emmanuel Macron warned that a victory for the far left or the far right in this month’s snap election could spark “civil war.”

Also, in a “Letter to the French” published on Monday, Macron has vowed to remain in office until May 2027 regardless of the outcome of the parliamentary elections on June 30 and July 7.

Elsewhere, the United Kingdom is heading to the polls on July 4 and investors are bracing for the most distorted election result in British history.

On a light day on the economic front, official data showed Spain’s GDP grew 0.8 percent in the first quarter from the previous three-month period, up from an initial 0.7 percent reading released in April.

The pan European STOXX 600 dropped 0.3 percent to 517.14 after climbing 0.7 percent on Monday.

The German DAX fell 1.2 percent, France’s CAC 40 shed 0.7 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 was little changed with a negative bias.

In corporate news, Novo Nordisk added 1.3 percent. The Danish drug maker announced its plans to invest $4.1 billion or about 27 billion Danish kroner to build a new manufacturing plant in Clayton, North Carolina with a view to expanding its manufacturing capacity in the United States.

Airbus shares plummeted nearly 11 percent in Paris. The aerospace group cut its financial targets for 2024 and also announced fresh charges of around 900 million euros, citing supply chain issues and additional costs in its space systems division.

Melrose, Rolls-Royce, Safran and MTU Aero Engines fell 4-6 percent.

Germany’s HORNBACH rallied 3.1 percent after reporting higher Q1 net income and confirming its full-year outlook.

Merck KGaA plunged 10 percent after the diversified group discontinued a late-stage trial for a cancer drug.

BP Plc and Shell both rose by 0.7 percent in London as crude prices held firm near recent highs.

Vertu Motors fell about 1 percent. The automotive retailer said it anticipates fiscal 2025 results to be in line with current market expectations.

Saga rallied 2.1 percent. The provider of services to the over-50s has reported further strong trading in its ocean cruise business for the first four months of the year.

U.S. Economic News

Standard & Poor’s is scheduled to release its report on home prices in major metropolitan areas in the month of April at 9 am ET.

At 10 am ET, the Conference Board is due to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of June. The consumer confidence index is expected to dip to 100.0 in June from 102.0 in May.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook is scheduled to speak before an Economic Club of New York luncheon at 12 pm ET.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $69 billion worth of two-year notes.

At 2:15 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman is scheduled to give the keynote address at a hybrid Midwest Cyber Workshop hosted by the Federal Reserve Banks of St. Louis, Chicago and Kansas City.