Futures Pointing To Modestly Lower Open On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to modestly lower open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to give back ground after ending the previous session mostly higher.

Uncertainty ahead of the release of key U.S. economic data in the coming days may lead some traders to cash in on yesterday’s gains.

The monthly jobs report as well as a report on personal income and spending that includes the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation readings are likely to be in the spotlight.

Reports on third quarter GDP, pending home sales and manufacturing sector activity may also attract some attention.

The data could impact the outlook for the economy as well as expectations regarding how quickly the Fed will lower interest rates.

Traders are also looking ahead to the release of earnings news from big-name tech companies, with Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) among the companies due to report their quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.

Shares of Ford (F) are likely to come under pressure after the auto giant reported better than expected third quarter earnings but forecast full-year earnings toward the low end of its previous guidance.

Fast food giant McDonald’s (MCD) is also seeing pre-market weakness despite reporting third quart results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.

Meanwhile, shares of Pfizer (PFE) are likely to see initial strength after the drug giant beat third quarter estimates and raised its full-year guidance.

After showing a strong move to the upside early in the session, stocks gave back ground over the course of the trading day on Monday but managed to end the day mostly higher. The major averages all finished the day in positive territory after turning in mixed performances over the two previous sessions.

The Dow advanced 273.17 points or 0.7 percent to 42,387.57, the Nasdaq climbed 48.58 points or 0.3 percent to 18,567.19 and the S&P 500 rose 15.40 points or 0.3 percent to 5,821.52.

The strength on Wall Street comes amid a steep drop by the price of oil. Oil prices plunged after Israel’s retaliatory attack against Iran over the weekend did not damage the Islamic republic’s energy facilities.

Meanwhile, traders were also looking ahead to the release of key U.S. economic data later in the week.

Airline stocks saw substantial strength on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 3.0 percent to its best closing level in over a year.

Delta Air Lines (DAL) posted a standout gain after filing a lawsuit against CrowdStrike (CRWD) over the July outage that led to thousands of flight cancellations.

Significant was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 3.0 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.

Financial, computer hardware and biotechnology stocks also saw considerable strength, while energy stocks moved to the downside along with the price of crude oil.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are jumping $1.02 to $68.40 a barrel after plummeting $4.40 to $67.38 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after inching up $1.30 to $2,755.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $7.80 to $2,763.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 153.78 yen compared to the 153.29 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0777 compared to yesterday’s $1.0812.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed on Tuesday and the dollar index held steady as investors looked ahead to a slew of U.S. economic data as well as tech megacap earnings for directional cues.

Traders also remained apprehensive that a Donald Trump victory in the upcoming U.S. presidential election may slow global growth.

Gold edged up in Asian trading, while oil steadied after tumbling 6 percent on Monday, the biggest decline in more than two years on signs the war in the Middle East would not widen.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped 1.1 percent to 3,286.41 as caution set in ahead of a top leadership meeting next week, expected to discuss stimulus measures.

Investors also reacted to reports suggesting that the Biden administration has finalized restrictions on investments by U.S. individuals and companies into advanced technology in China.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.5 percent to 20,701.14, with Baidu and Alibaba Group Holding leading the way higher.

Japanese markets advanced notably as the yen found its footing after having plunged to a three-month low the previous day.

Ahead of the Bank of Japan policy meeting on Thursday, the head of the opposition Democratic Party for the People said that the central bank should avoid making big changes in its ultra-loose monetary policy.

The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 0.8 percent to 38,903.68 to extend Monday’s rally amid reports that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s ruling party was reportedly locked in talks to form new alliances.

The broader Topix Index settled 0.9 percent higher at 2,682.02. Shares of Nippon Paint Holdings jumped 14.3 percent after the company agreed to buy U.S. chemical firm AOC.

Seoul stocks ended modestly higher ahead of earnings from Alphabet, Meta, Microsoft, Apple and Amazon this week.

The Kospi edged up 0.2 percent to 2,617.80. Samsung Electronics surged 2.6 percent, while SK Hynix fell 2.9 percent.

Australian markets eked out modest gains to end higher for a third day running. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent to 8,249.20 ahead of domestic inflation data due on Wednesday.

The broader All Ordinaries Index finished 0.3 percent higher at 8,505.90, with banks and miners leading the advance.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index ended little changed with a positive bias at 12,783.36 after a choppy session.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Tuesday as investors look ahead to a slew of U.S. economic data as well as tech megacap earnings this week for directional cues.

Google parent Alphabet is due to unveil its earnings later in the day, with investors keen to see how growth at its key search business is progressing during a time of rising competition.

Traders are also keeping a close eye on Wednesday’s U.K. budget announcement and the upcoming U.S. presidential election.

Analysts expect the Autumn Budget to introduce key fiscal reforms, including tax changes and wage adjustments that could significantly impact the industry landscape.

A Trump victory may be on the horizon, but most major polls currently show him locked in a tight race with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Meanwhile, a survey showed earlier today that German consumer confidence is set to recover more strongly in November to hit a more than two-and-a-half-year high.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to -18.3 in November from a revised value of -21.0 in October as both income expectations and the willingness to buy showed a back-to-back improvement, according to a survey conducted by the market research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM).

Elsewhere, U.K. shop prices declined the most in more than three years in October amid falling non-food prices and easing food inflation, the British Retail Consortium, or BRC, said.

The shop price index declined 0.8 percent on a yearly basis in October, larger than the 0.6 percent decrease in the previous month. This was the weakest deflation since August 2021.

While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.3 percent.

In corporate news, Spain’s largest insurer Mapfre has surged after saying its net profit rose 39 percent in first nine months of the year.

HSBC shares have also moved sharply higher in London after the Asia-focused bank reported stronger-than-expected third-quarter earnings and announced a hefty $3 billion buyback.

China-linked Kering, Hermes and LVMH have also risen in Paris ahead of a top leadership meeting in China next week, expected to discuss stimulus measures.

German sportswear maker Adidas has also gained after posting solid third-quarter results and raising its annual profit target for the third quarter in a row.

On the other hand, lender Banco Santander has moved sharply lower after its third quarter net interest income came below consensus estimates.

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG also come under pressure despite raising its annual profit guidance for the third straight quarter.

Energy giant BP Plc has also dropped as it reported lower profit and cash flow from a year ago, weighed down by a drop in refining profits and weaker oil trading.

Lufthansa has also fallen as the airline reported a 9 percent year-on-year decline in its third quarter operating profit.

U.S. Economic News

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

At 10 am ET, the Conference Board is due to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of October. The consumer confidence index is expected to inch up to 99.1 in October after falling to 98.7 in September.

The Labor Department is also scheduled to release its report on job openings in the month of September at 10 am ET. Job openings are expected to dip to 7.99 million in September after rising to 8.04 million in August.

At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is due to announce the results of this month’s auction of $44 billion worth of seven-year notes.