Lower index futures point to a negative start for U.S. stocks Tuesday morning. The mood is likely to remain cautious once again as investors await key inflation data, due this week.
The Dow futures are down 0.37 percent, the S&P futures are lower by 0.39 percent and the Nasdaq futures are drifting down by about 0.42 percent.
The reports on consumer and producer price inflation, which are due to be released on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said following last week’s rate hike that the central bank would take a “data-dependent approach” to future monetary policy decisions.
Weak trade data from China is likely to weigh on sentiment. Data showed Chinese imports dropped nearly 8 percent in April after seeing a 1.4 percent decline a month earlier. Exports rose by 8.5 percent annually, but the pace was slower than what was seen in the previous month.
Stocks showed a lack of direction on Monday and the major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line as investors were reluctant to make significant moves.
While the Dow edged down 55.69 points or 0.2 percent to 33,618.69, the S&P 500 crept up 1.87 points or 0.1 percent to 4,138.12 and the Nasdaq rose 21.50 points or 0.2 percent to 12,256.92.
In overseas trading, Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday on disappointing trade data from China. Also, investors were wary of making significant moves ahead of key U.S. inflation numbers.
European are down firmly in negative territory as investors await key inflation data from the U.S. for clues about the Federal Reserve’s likely stance on policy tightening.
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are down $0.81 or 1.1 percent at $72.41 a barrel. Gold futures are gaining $6.60 or 0.32 percent at $2,039.80 an ounce.
In the currency market, the dollar index is up 0.15 percent at 101.53. Against the Euro, the dollar is up at 1.0975. Against the Japanese currency, the dollar is weak, fetching 134.91 yen.
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