U.S.
stock tips futures pointed to a steady open on Tuesday, as markets eyed
the release of U.S. data and earnings reports later in the day, after
comments by Atlanta Federal Reserve President Dennis Lockhart on Monday
pressured equity markets.
U.S. futures point to steady open ahead of data
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a
0.07% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% rise, while the Nasdaq
100 futures indicated a 0.06% uptick.
U.S. equities were hit
on Monday after Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said that the U.S.
central bank should push ahead with its efforts to wind down monetary
stimulus.
The comments came after Friday’s data showing that
the U.S. economy added far fewer jobs than expected in December cast
doubts over the strength of the recovery in the labor market, and
fuelled expectations that the Federal Reserve will maintain loose
monetary policy for longer.
The pharmaceutical
intraday tips sector was
expected to remain in focus, after a preliminary review posted on the
U.S. Food and Drug Administration's web site on Monday cited "robustly
positive" clinical trial results for Merck & Co. and said its blood
clot-preventing drug vorapaxar should be approved.
Shares in the U.S. drugmaker dropped 0.45% in pre-market trade after rallying over 6% on Monday.
Among tech stocks, Juniper Networks advanced 0.67% in early trading,
after Bloomberg reported that the maker of computer-networking equipment
was being targeted by activist hedge fund Elliott Management.
Elsewhere, Yum! Brands was down 0.76% after hours, as the owner of the
KFC and Pizza Hut brands said same-store sales rose 2% in China last
month, below market expectations.
Other stocks likely to be in
focus included JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, scheduled to report
fourth-quarter results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic,
European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 declined 0.42%,
France’s CAC 40 retreated 0.43%, Germany's DAX lost 0.60%, while
Britain's FTSE 100 slipped 0.27%.
During the Asian
commodity tips trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.43%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged 3.08%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on retail sales, as well as reports on import prices and business inventories.