Makar Sakranti Special :- Jackpot Stocks & Commodity Tips Inside : 14th January 2014

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.