Stock futures pointed to a softer start for Wall Street as the month of February kicked off with a key manufacturing index ahead, and more earnings news from Exxon Mobil, Alphabet and General Motors.
How are stock-index futures trading?
-
S&P 500 futures
ES00,
-0.26%
fell 0.2% to 4,493 -
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures
YM00,
-0.18%
dropped 0.2% to 34,932 -
Nasdaq-100 futures
NQ00,
-0.15%
eased 0.1% to 14,889
On Monday, the Dow industrials
DJIA,
finished 406.39 points, or 1.2%, higher at 35,131.86 and dropped 3.3% for January, the biggest monthly fall since November 2021. The S&P 500
SPX,
rose 1.9% to 4,515.55, logging a 5.3% monthly drop, the biggest since March 2020.
The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP,
slid 9% decline in January, also the biggest monthly drop since March 2020, and the worst January performance since 2008, according to Dow Jones Market Data. The index rallied 3.4% to 14,239.88 on Monday, though.
Read: Bears beware. Past corrections for the S&P 500 are only 15% on average, outside of recessions
And: Market corrections are good buying opportunities, says Goldman Sachs — but only when this happens
What’s driving the markets?
Investors on Tuesday indicated some hesitancy to follow up Monday’s strong gains, a bright note after such a dismal January performance for stocks, as investors fretted in part over worries the prospects for higher U.S. interest rates. European markets gained on back of Wall Street’s rally, even amid Wall Street’s follow-through struggle.
“Investors continue to buy the dips almost everywhere this week, with market sentiment boosted by a strong earning season so far where most companies have beaten expectations,” said Pierre Veyret, technical analyst at ActivTrades, in a note to clients.
“Technically speaking, most indexes have registered solid rebounds over major support zones and are now challenging key resistance levels. If cleared, these resistances could open the doors to an extended rally, potentially driving prices up to new record highs on the short to midterm basis,” he said.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note
TMUBMUSD10Y,
fell 2 basis points to 1.756%, with oil prices softer
CL.1,
and the ICE U.S. Dollar index
DXY,
down 0.2%.
On the data front, investors will get the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index for January, along with job openings and construction spending for December, all at 10 a.m. Eastern Time.
Tuesday also marks a big earnings day, with Stanley Black & Decker
SWK,
United Parcel Service
UPS,
and Exxon Mobil
XOM,
due to announce results ahead of the open. Investors will get more big tech earnings after Tuesday’s close from Google-parent Alphabet
GOOGL,
along with PayPal
PYPL,
and Advanced Micro Devices
AMD,
General Motors
GM,
and Starbucks
SBUX,
will also report.
Read: You can still find a haven in tech stocks: These 20 offer the safety net of highly stable profits