After seeing considerable volatility in the previous session, stocks may continue to experience choppy 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 less than a tenth of a percent.
Uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets may keep some traders on the sidelines following recent weakness, which saw the Nasdaq and S&P 500 move sharply lower over the three previous sessions.
Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves of the release of earnings news from Nvidia (NVDA) after the close of trading on Wednesday.
“Nvidia is due to report its fourth-quarter and full-year results on Wednesday and investors will be looking forward to the usual demolition of forecasts and also positive guidance for the next quarter from chief executive Jensen Huang,” said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.
“Failure to deliver the customary upside surprise might not sit well,” he added. “Nvidia’s shares are no higher than they were last summer, despite strong earnings and ongoing investor enthusiasm for all things related to artificial intelligence, so any unexpected disappointment could cause some share price turbulence.”
Traders are also looking ahead to the release of some key U.S. economic data in the coming days, including the Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation.
Not long after the start of trading, the Conference Board is due to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of February. The consumer confidence index is expected to dip to 103.0 in February after falling to 104.1 in January.
Following the significant pullback seen during last Thursday and Friday’s session, stocks saw considerable volatility over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages showed wild swings back and forth across the unchanged line as the day progressed.
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 eventually ended the day firmly in negative territory, but the narrower Dow posted a modest gain.
While the Dow inched up 33.19 points or 0.1 percent to 43,461.21, the S&P 500 fell 29.88 points or 0.5 percent to 5,983.25 and the Nasdaq tumbled 237.08 points or 1.2 percent to 19,286.92.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.4 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent.
Meanwhile, most European stocks have moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.5 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is just above the unchanged line.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.44 to $70.26 a barrel after rising $0.30 to $70.70 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after climbing $10 to $2,963.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $20.30 to $2,942.90 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.59 yen compared to the 149.72 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0504 compared to yesterday’s $1.0468.
Business News
U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction In Early Trading
2025-02-25 13:48:50
