Futures Pointing To Initial Pullback On Wall Street

Stocks may to move to the downside in early trading on Tuesday, giving back ground after turning in a strong performance in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4 percent.

Lingering concerns about a global trade war may weigh on Wall Street after President Donald Trump officially announced tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum imports.

A statement from the White House said Trump is reinstating a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and increasing tariffs on aluminum imports to 25 percent.

Early trading is also likely to be impacted by reaction to congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Powell is due to appear before the Senate Banking Committee this morning, with his remarks potentially impacting the outlook for interest rates.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as traders look ahead to the release of closely watched inflation reports in the coming days.

After moving mostly higher early in the session, stocks continue to turn in a strong performance throughout the trading day on Monday. With the upward move, the major averages partly offset the steep losses posted last Friday.

The major averages moved roughly sideways in afternoon trading, hovering in positive territory. The Nasdaq jumped 190.87 points or 1.0 percent to 19,714.27, the S&P 500 climbed 40.45 points or 0.7 percent to 6,066.44 and the Dow rose 167.01 points or 0.4 percent to 44,470.41.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi climbed by 0.7 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks have moved modestly higher on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is nearly unchanged, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $1.18 to $73.50 a barrel after surging $1.32 to $72.32 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after soaring $46.80 to $2,934.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $20.60 to $2,913.80 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 152.36 yen compared to the 151.99 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0320 compared to yesterday’s $1.0306.