U.S. stock futures were edging lower on Tuesday, threatening to post the first back-to-back losses for equity benchmarks in about two weeks as Wall Street awaits clarity from the Federal Reserve on monetary policy, and as investors watch for developments on U.S.-China trade.
How are benchmarks performing?
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
YMH9, +0.08%
slipped 17 points, or 0.1%, at 24,441, those for the S&P 500
ESH9, -0.03%
retreated 2.40 points, or 0.1%, at 2,639.50, while Nasdaq-100 futures
NQH9, -0.07%
futures declined 14.50 points, or 0.2%, at 6,686.75.
On Monday, the Dow
DJIA, -0.84%
shed 208.98 points, or 0.8%, to end at 24,528.22, while the S&P 500 index
SPX, -0.78%
fell 20.91 points, or 0.8%, to 2,643.85, and the Nasdaq Composite
COMP, -1.11%
dropped 79.18 points, or 1.1%, to finish at 7,085.68.
Read : It’s time to ‘dismount’ from this stock-market rodeo, says Morgan Stanley’s Wilson
What’s driving the market?
President Donald Trump’s administration rolled out criminal charges against China’s Huawei Technologies, raising the specter of elevated trade tensions between Beijing and Washington on tariffs.
In cases unsealed late Monday, federal prosecutors accused Huawei of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and of stealing trade secrets from a U.S. business partner. Allegations of intellectual property theft have been about the key issues cited by the Trump administration as it attempts to resolve a protracted trade dispute with China.
On Monday, shares of Caterpillar
CAT, -9.13%
dropped after setting lower-than-expected profit targets for 2019, citing slowing growth in China, while shares of Nvidia Corp.
NVDA, -13.82%
tumbled after the chip maker cut its 2019 guidance, citing a weakening Chinese economy.
Later Tuesday, the Fed will commence its two-day policy-setting gathering, where investors will keenly observe for fresh communications on the pace of rate increases and a reduction of its balance sheet, both processes that had rattled investors worried that too-fast normalization was stoking market turbulence. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to hold a news conference to discuss the central bank’s plans on Wednesday 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Elsewhere, market participants are focused on Brexit votes later Tuesday, where the U.K. Parliament will vote on amendments to Prime Minister Theresa May’s revised proposal to exit from the European Union, after lawmakers earlier this month rejected her initial EU deal.
Which stocks are worth watching?
3M Co.
MMM, -1.38%
reported results that were better than expected, but cut its full-year outlook.
Xerox
XRX, -0.98%
topped earnings expectations but fell slightly short of analysts estimates on revenue, but offered an upbeat outlook.
Beleaguered California utility PG&E Corp.
PCG, +2.04%
on Tuesday filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and reorganization.
Shares of Whirlpool Corp.
WHR, -0.49%
are in focus after the appliances maker reported fourth-quarter GAAP earnings below expectations, flat sales, and 2019 guidance below forecasts.
Many other corporate results were expected Tuesday. Those include quarterly results from the likes of Biogen Inc.
BIIB, -2.01%
Pfizer Inc.
PFE, -2.73%
Allergan Plc
AGN, -1.23%
Harley-Davidson Inc.
HOG, -0.73%
Lockheed Martin Corp.
LMT, +0.29%
Verizon Communications Inc.
VZ, -2.36%
HCA Healthcare Inc.
HCA, -0.88%
and Brinker International Inc.
EAT, +1.91%
before the opening bell.
After the bell, Apple Inc.
AAPL, -0.93%
and eBay Inc.
EBAY, +0.89%
will be among the company’s set to report after the closing bell.
What are strategists saying?
“In stock markets, the earnings season continues in earnest today. Notable names releasing their quarterly results include Apple and Ebay, both after the US market close. It will be interesting – and crucial for sentiment – to see whether Apple echoes the recent concerns around China’s slowdown,” wrote Marios Hadjikyriacos, investment analyst at XM.com, in a Tuesday research note.
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Source : MTV
