U.S. stock index futures were lower Tuesday morning, as investors reacted to a downgrade of Caterpillar shares and a miss on Home Depot earnings.
At around 6:50 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a negative open of nearly 100 points. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were both seen relatively downbeat.
Home Depot surprised investors in premarket trading, posting quarterly earnings and revenue that fell short of expectations. Investors were also rattled by a rare “sell” rating issued by UBS on shares of Caterpillar, citing concerns about 2020 revenue and margins.
Market focus was also attuned to global trade developments, after President Donald Trump said on Sunday he would delay a tariff hike of $200 billion of Chinese imports. The announcement marked the clearest sign yet that Washington and Beijing were making progress in their protracted dispute.
However, Trump also sounded a note of caution, saying a deal “could happen fairly soon, or it might not happen at all.”
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Market participants are also awaiting testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday. It comes after the U.S. central bank adopted a more cautious stance on future interest rate hikes last month.
On the data front, investors are likely to monitor housing starts and building permits for December at around 8:30 a.m. ET. Philadelphia Fed manufacturing figures for February is expected to be released at the same time, with consumer confidence data for February due later in the session.
In corporate news, Bank of Nova Scotia and Macy’s are also set to publish their latest quarterly results shortly before the opening bell.
Meanwhile, Mylan, IMAX and Papa John’s are all scheduled to report their results after market close.
Source: cnbc.com | Original Link