US Market
The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to extend the lackluster performance seen in the previous session.
Traders may remain reluctant to make significant moves as they continue to look ahead to next week’s Federal Reserve meeting.
The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.
Key inflation reports are also likely to be in the spotlight next week, as the data could impact whether the Fed resumes its rate hikes next month.
No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today, although reports on the U.S. trade deficit and weekly jobless claims may attract some attention in the coming days.
Following the rally seen to close out the previous week, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually finished the session in negative territory. The Nasdaq edged down 11.34 points or 0.1 percent to 13,229.43 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.58 points or 0.2 percent to 4,273.79, while the narrower Dow slid 199.90 points or 0.6 percent to 33,562.86.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as some traders looked to take a break to assess the outlook for the markets following the strong upward move seen last Thursday and Friday.
The rally came amid the passage of legislation raising the U.S. debt ceiling and the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report.
With the surge, the Nasdaq reached its best closing level in well over a year, while the S&P 500 set a new nine-month closing high.
Trading activity may remain somewhat subdued throughout the week as traders look ahead to next week’s Fed meeting.
In U.S. economic news, the Institute for Supply Management released a report showing service sector activity in the U.S. saw only modest growth in the month of May, with the index of activity in the sector falling by more than expected.
The ISM said its services PMI fell to 50.3 in May from 51.9 in April, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the sector. Economists had expected the index to edge down to 51.5.
A separate report released by the Commerce Department showed new orders for U.S. manufactured goods increased by slightly less than expected in the month of April.
The report said factory orders rose by 0.4 percent in April after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in March.
Economists had expected factory orders to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.9 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although considerable weakness was visible among networking stocks.
The NYSE Arca Network Index tumbled by 2.1 percent after ending last Friday’s trading at its best closing level in well over a month.
Oil service stocks also saw considerable weakness despite an increase by the price of crude oil, dragging the Philadelphia Oil Service Index down by 1.9 percent.
Semiconductor, computer hardware and tobacco stocks also saw notable weakness, while some strength was visible among utilities and software stocks.
U.S. Economic Reports
No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today.
Stocks in Focus
Shares of GitLab (GTLB) are soaring in pre-market trading after the software development platform company reported a narrower than expected fiscal first quarter loss on revenues that exceeded analyst estimates.
Recreational vehicle manufacturer Thor Industries (THO) is also likely to see initial strength after reporting fiscal third quarter results that beat expectations and raising its full-year earnings guidance.
On the other hand, shares of Mobileye (MBLY) may come under pressure on news an Intel (INTC) subsidiary plans to sell 35 million shares of the company’s stock.
Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is also seeing significant pre-market weakness after the SEC charged the company with operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Europe
European stocks are flat to slightly lower on Tuesday as concerns about inflation and slowing growth weigh on sentiment.
Interest rate concerns have returned to the fore after the Reserve Bank of Australia unexpectedly raised rates again by 25 basis points and kept the door open to further hikes, saying inflation remains too high.
In economic news, Eurostat reported that retail sales in the euro zone flat lined in April. Retail sales came in unchanged month-on-month in April versus the 0.2 percent uptick expected.
Data from the British Retail Consortium showed British retail sales growth slowed to a seven-month low in May as a result of rising food costs.
Elsewhere, German manufacturing orders decreased further in April, but the drop was less severe than expected.
Factory orders fell a seasonally and calendar adjusted 0.4 percent month-on-month, preliminary data from the statistical office Destatis showed. That was much less severe than the 2.2 percent slump economists had forecast.
While the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.1 percent.
N Brown Group has moved sharply lower after it swung to a pre-tax loss in the fiscal 2023 in a “challenging” market.
Primark owner Associated British Foods is also moving lower after it agreed to buy dairy technology firm National Milk Records for £48 million.
Meanwhile, Paragon Banking Group has surged after upgrading its full-year guidance and launching a second 50.0-million-pound ($62.2 million) share buyback program for the year.
Asia
Asian markets turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as weak U.S. data rekindled growth worries and the Reserve Bank of Australia kept the door open to further tightening after unexpectedly raising its key interest rate.
Gold inched higher as the dollar pulled back and U.S. bond yields declined on hopes for a pause in Fed hikes at both the June and July policy meetings.
The U.S. government is due to release an update on inflation next week ahead of the FOMC meeting.
Oil prices fell nearly 2 percent in Asian trading on concerns that a long-drawn recession in advanced economies brought on by interest rate hikes may weigh on global demand.
Chinese shares tumbled amid heightened Sino-U.S. tensions and concerns that the country’s economic recovery is sputtering.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.2 percent to 3,195.34, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index settled marginally lower at 19,099.28.
Japanese shares ended higher despite mixed readings on wages and household spending. The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 0.9 percent to 32,506.78, reaching its highest level since July 1990.
The broader Topix Index ended 0.7 percent higher at 2,236.28, with trading house Mitsui & Co and Uniqlo operator Fast Retailing leading the gains ahead of the June 9 setting of special quotation prices used to set values on index options and futures.
South Korean markets were closed for a holiday. Australian markets lost ground and the Aussie dollar jumped after the central bank lifted its benchmark interest rate for a 12th consecutive time, saying inflation is still too high.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slumped 1.2 percent to 7,129.60, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended 1.1 percent lower at 7,319.90.
Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index finished marginally higher at 11,882.10.
Commodities
Crude oil futures are slumping $1.49 to $70.66 a barrel after climbing $0.41 to $72.15 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after inching up $4.70 to $1,974.30 in the previous session, gold futures are rising $7.60 to $1,981.90 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 139.78 yen compared to the 139.58 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0672 compared to yesterday’s $1.0713.