US stock index futures stabilized on Tuesday ahead of key results from the important technology sector, which could indicate sentiment on Wall Street going forward. This and much more today in the stock market.
On Monday, Wall Street showed signs of recovery thanks to a strong rotation into technology stocks, even though benchmark indices remained below recent highs.
The S&P 500 rose 1.1%, its best session on record since early June, the NASDAQ Composite advanced nearly 1.6% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%.
Alphabet and Tesla Report Second-Quarter Results
On Tuesday, the focus was on upcoming earnings releases from tech giants Alphabet (GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA), expected after Tuesday’s close.
Alphabet will give more signals about how Wall Street’s internet giants are benefiting from artificial intelligence, as well as how much they are spending on developing the new technology.
Tesla’s earnings will indicate how the electric vehicle maker is weathering a sharp decline in demand, while attention will also focus on its promises of autonomous driving and AI-backed robotaxis.
In addition to the two tech giants, other major Wall Street companies releasing their results on Tuesday include Visa (V), Coca-Cola (KO), Texas Instruments (TXN), Lockheed Martin (LMT), General Electric (GE), and United Parcel Service (UPS).
The second-quarter earnings season is expected to set the tone for Wall Street’s trajectory in the coming weeks.
Political Uncertainties Continue
Aside from corporate earnings, investors will also turn their attention to the political landscape in the US, with Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s nominee, after President Joe Biden announced that he would not run for re-election.
Recent polls indicated that Republican nominee Donald Trump was ahead of Biden and Harris, although it was not entirely clear whether Harris’s nomination would change this trend in his favor.
On Tuesday, home sales for June will be released along with the Richmond manufacturing index for July.
However, the main economic data this week will be released on Friday with the June personal consumption expenditures index, which will test market expectations that the Federal Reserve may cut interest rates by September.
Crude Oil Prices on the Lookout for US Inventories
Crude oil prices held steady on Tuesday, near their lowest levels since mid-June, as expectations of oversupply and uncertainty over demand continued to undermine sentiment.
Concerns about sluggish demand in China, the world’s biggest oil importer, have weighed on the market, as have expectations that the crude market will be in surplus next year.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley warned in a note this week that the oil market is likely to reach a surplus by 2025, due to declining seasonal demand and an expected increase in global production.
The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, will release its estimates of the previous week’s oil inventories later in the session, while official US government data will be released on Wednesday.
US oil inventories have been declining in recent weeks as the summer driving season boosted demand in the world’s largest consumer.
