Futures Pointing To Another Choppy Trading Day On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to show a lack of direction after ending yesterday’s volatile session little changed.

Traders may remain reluctant to make significant moves as they look ahead to the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days.

Four of the “Magnificent Seven” companies – Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT) – are among the companies due to report their quarterly results this week.

Big-name companies like Visa (V), Eli Lilly (LLY), Chevron (CVX) and Exxon Mobil (XOM) are also due to report their quarterly results.

The Labor Department’s monthly jobs report is also likely to be in focus later this week along with the Federal Reserve’s preferred readings on consumer price inflation.

On the trade front, President Donald Trump reportedly plans to reduce tariffs on auto parts for cars made in America following intense lobbying by industrial leaders.

Stocks fluctuated over the course of the trading day on Monday, extending the volatility seen during last Friday’s session.

After showing a lack of direction early in the session, stocks came under pressure in late morning and early afternoon trading before rebounding going into the end of the day.

The major averages eventually ended the day narrowly mixed. While the Nasdaq edged down 16.81 points or 0.1 percent to 17,366.13, the S&P 500 inched up 3.54 points or 0.1 percent to 5,528.75 and the Dow rose 114.09 points or 0.3 percent to 40,227.59.

The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves as they look ahead to the release of key earnings and economic news in the coming days.

Traders also kept a close eye on developments on the trade front, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent telling ABC News’ “This Week” on Sunday he believes an agreement in principle can reached on “17 or 18 important trade deals” the administration is currently negotiating.

“A trade deal can take months, but an agreement in principle and the good behavior and staying within the parameter of the deal by our trading partners can keep the tariffs there from ratcheting back to the maximum level,” Bessent said.

Meanwhile, in a separate interview with CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning, Bessent said he believes it’s up to China to de-escalate, “because they sell five times more to us than we sell to them.”

Reflecting the lackluster close by the broader markets, most of the major sectors ended the day showing only modest moves.

Telecom stocks showed a strong move to the upside, however, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index climbing by 1.7 percent.

Natural gas and steel stocks also saw some strength on the day, while oil service stocks moved lower along with the price of crude oil.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are tumbling $1.03 to $61.02 a barrel after slumping $0.97 to $62.05 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after surging $49.30 to $3,347.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $29 to $3,318.70 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 142.51 yen compared to the 142.01 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1386 compared to yesterday’s $1.1420.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mixed in muted trading on Tuesday, with Japanese markets closed for the Showa Day holiday.

The White House has confirmed President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce tariffs on auto parts for cars made in America following intense lobbying by industrial leaders.

At the same time, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent put the burden for trade progress squarely on China, increasing confusion about the status of talks between the two countries.

China vowed to stand firm and said that concession and retreat will only make the bully more aggressive.

The dollar was resilient against its rivals in Asian trading, sending gold prices lower toward $3,300 per ounce. Oil extended overnight losses on a weaker demand outlook.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index finished marginally lower at 3,286.65 as officials pledged to stabilize capital markets without announcing fresh stimulus to counter hefty U.S. tariffs.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.2 percent to 22,008.11 as tech stocks rallied on Alibaba’s advanced Qwen 3 AI launch.

Seoul stocks ended higher for a third day running, with auto and bio stocks leading the surge ahead of quarterly earnings reports from major companies.

The Kospi climbed 0.7 percent to 2,565.42. Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia both rose over 2 percent, while Samsung Biologics gained 1.5 percent and smaller rival Celltrion jumped 3.8 percent.

Australian markets climbed to a two-month high on hopes for more favorable U.S. trade policies.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 0.9 percent to 8,070.60, rising for a fourth straight session led by energy and tech stocks. The broader All Ordinaries Index settled 1.0 percent higher at 8,287.90.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index dropped 0.6 percent to 12,025.45.

Europe

European stocks are modestly higher on Tuesday ahead of a slew of earnings and key data releases due this week. Sentiment was underpinned after reports emerged that the U.S. would move to reduce the impact of duties imposed on foreign parts in domestically manufactured cars.

Meanwhile, German consumer confidence is set to continue its recovery in May as tariff hikes by the U.S. administration had a limited impact, a closely watched survey showed.

The forward-looking consumer sentiment index unexpectedly improved to -20.6 in May from a revised -24.3 in the previous month, according to a survey jointly published by market research group GfK and the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions. The score was expected to fall to -25.6.

The pan European STOXX 600 Index is up 0.3 percent, rising for a sixth straight session. The German DAX Index is up by 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.3 percent, although the French CAC 40 Index has bucked the uptrend and dipped by 0.2 percent.

Lender HSBC has moved sharply higher after it launched a $3 billion share buyback despite an increasingly fragile geopolitical backdrop.

Deutsche Bank has also jumped after posting higher-than-expected first-quarter profits and confirming its full-year revenue view.

Rheinmetall AG, the German auto and defense firm, has also shown a substantial move to the upside after its first quarter sales beat expectations.

Meal-kit maker HelloFresh SE has also soared after backing its annual outlook.

Clariant AG has also spiked. The Swiss specialty chemicals company reported improved profitability in its first quarter results despite flat sales.

On the other hand, sports car maker Porsche has slumped after cutting its full-year outlook.

Schneider Electric SE has also plummeted. The electrical equipment maker cut its 2025 implied core profit margin outlook, citing foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

Deutsche Boerse, one of the leading European stock exchanges, has also tumbled after revenue missed consensus estimates.

Appliances maker Electrolux has also moved sharply lower after its first quarter profit lagged expectations.

BP Plc has also plunged after reporting mixed earnings results and announcing the departure of an executive who led strategy during a failed pivot to renewables.

U.S. Economic News

Standard & Poor’s is scheduled to release its report on home prices in major metropolitan areas in the month of February at 9 am ET.

At 10 am ET, the Conference Board is due to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of April. The consumer confidence index is expected to fall to 87.5 in April after tumbling to 92.9 in March.

The Labor Department is also scheduled to release its report on job openings in the month of March at 10 am ET. Job openings are expected to decrease to 7.464 million in March after dipping to 7.568 million in February.