Stock index futures along with U.S. equities were lower on Tuesday, with eyes on the third quarter results of a number of large companies.
Most major Wall Street indexes posted a slightly negative session on Monday, with the Dow Joanes index down 0.8%, ending three straight sessions of gains. The S&P 500 index lost 0.2% while the Nasdaq Composite lost about 113 points, about 0.6%.
A flurry of Q3 results
The results of a large number of U.S. companies will be released on Tuesday.
About one-fifth of the S&P 500 index is scheduled to report results this week, and so far about 14% of the companies in the broad index have reported results, with more than 7 out of 10 beating earnings forecasts, according to FactSet.
Chipmakers Texas Instruments (TXN) and Seagate Technology (STX) will be joined by defense companies GE Aerospace (GE), Rtx Corp (RTX) and Lockheed Martin (LMT), plus with teleco Verizon Communications (VZ), miner Freeport-McMoran (FCX), industrial giant 3M Company (MMM) and automaker General Motors (GM).
Electric car maker Tesla (TSLA) will unveil its results on Wednesday and is the top-ranked company of the week, while other major Wall Street stocks, such as AT&T (T), International Business Machines (IBM), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Coca-Cola (KO), will also report their results on Wednesday.
Additionally, SAP (SAP) shares rose nearly 4% ahead of the market open after the German software company raised its full-year guidance on the back of a strong cloud business in the third quarter, while Zions Bancorporation (ZION) gained nearly 3% on the back of strong earnings.
IMF and Fed in the spotlight
The International Monetary Fund is expected to update its estimates for the global economy later in the day on Tuesday, and investors will also be on the lookout for more statements from the Federal Reserve, as FOMC member Patrick Harker will speak during the session.
Four Fed policymakers on Monday backed further rate cuts following the central bank’s decision to cut borrowing costs by 50 basis points in September.
However, the comments from these officials seemed to signal some continued disagreement over the pace of the cuts.
The U.S. presidential election is still in the spotlight, with GOP candidate Donald Trump gaining ground on Vice President Kamala Harris, according to the latest polls, with two weeks to go before the vote.
Crude oil rebounds, but demand fears continue
Oil prices reversed past losses on Tuesday, although a large amount of uncertainty clouds global demand growth, especially in major crude importer China.
International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol said Monday that China’s economic weakness continued to dampen global oil demand in the coming years.
Birol’s comments, in an interview with Bloomberg, came after both the International Energy Agency and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries recently cut their demand growth forecasts because of concerns about China.
However, tensions in the Middle East continue to support the crude oil market, as traders fear that an escalation of the conflict between Israel and Hamas and Hezbollah could significantly impact supply in the oil-rich region.
