Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open 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 the previous session modestly higher.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves as they await further news on the trade front ahead of the August 1st deadline for President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal tariffs.”

After moving mostly higher early in the session, stocks continued to turn in a strong performance throughout much of the trading day on Monday before giving back ground going into the close.

Despite the late-day pullback, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 ended the session at new record closing highs.

The Nasdaq rose 78.52 points or 0.4 percent to 20,974.17 and the S&P 500 inched up 8.81 points or 0.1 percent to 6,305.60, although the narrower Dow edged down 19.12 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,323.07.

The early strength on Wall Street reflected optimism about potential trade deals, with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying he is confident the U.S. will reach an agreement with the European Union.

“These are the two biggest trading partners in the world, talking to each other. We’ll get a deal done,” Lutnick said in an interview with CBS News over the weekend. “I am confident we’ll get a deal done.”

However, Lutnick also described August 1st as a “hard deadline” for new “reciprocal tariffs” on U.S. trade partners to take effect.

“Nothing stops countries from talking to us after August 1st, but they’re going to start paying the tariffs on August 1st,” he said.

Buying interest waned over the course of the session, however, as traders looked ahead to the release of earnings news from several big-name companies this week, including Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL), Tesla (TSLA) and Intel (INTC).

On the U.S. economic front, a report released by the Conference Board showed its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by slightly more than expected in the month of June.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index declined by 0.3 percent in June following a revised unchanged reading in May.

Economists had expected the leading economic index to slip by 0.2 percent compared to the 0.1 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

Despite the pullback by the broad markets, gold stocks showed a substantial move to the upside on the day, resulting in a 3.8 percent spike by the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index. The rally by gold stocks comes amid a sharp increase by the price of the precious metal.

Significant strength was also visible among steel stocks, as reflected by the 2.5 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Steel Index.

Telecom and retail stocks are also saw some strength on the day, while natural gas and biotechnology stocks showed notable moves to the downside.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.28 to $66.92 a barrel after slipping $0.14 to $67.20 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after surging $48.10 to $3,406.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $10.80 to $3,417.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 146.77 yen compared to the 147.38 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.688 compared to yesterday’s $1.1694.

Asia

Asian shares turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday as trade tensions persisted and investors waited for clues on how companies are withstanding tariffs.

Google parent Alphabet, Tesla, General Motors and Intel are among the prominent U.S. companies scheduled to publish their earnings results this week.

Gold eased from a one-month high as the dollar struggled to recover ahead of a speech by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

Oil held a decline amid concerns the brewing trade war between major crude consumers the U.S. and the European Union will curb fuel demand.

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6 percent to 3,581.86, climbing to an eight-month high. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up 0.5 percent at 25,130.03.

Shares of construction and power firms surged after China announced over the weekend the start of construction on a $170 billion hydropower dam in Tibet.

Japanese markets ended a choppy session slightly lower after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the upper house over the weekend.

The Nikkei 225 Index edged down 0.1 percent to 39,774.92, while the broader Topix Index finished marginally higher at 2,836.19.

Japan Steel Works, Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries surged 5-6 percent, while Sumitomo Pharma lost 5 percent and Ebara Corp. declined 4.3 percent. SoftBank Group rallied 2.9 percent to extend gains for a third straight session.

Seoul stocks tumbled amid uncertainty over ongoing tariff negotiations with the United States and caution ahead of the corporate earnings season.

The Kospi slumped 1.3 percent to 3,169.94, dragged down by tech stocks. Samsung Electronics gave up 2.7 percent and SK Hynix shed 1.5 percent.

Australian markets ended slightly higher as the Reserve Bank of Australia’s July meeting minutes revealed a broadly aligned view that there will be “some additional reduction in interest rates over time”.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index crept up 0.1 percent to 8,677.20 as higher commodity prices boosted mining stocks.

BHP Group shares climbed 2.6 percent and Rio Tinto rallied 3.4 percent. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed 0.2 percent higher at 8,941.50.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index settled 1 percent lower at 12,833.74, retreating from a five-month high amid persistent global trade uncertainties.

Europe

European shares were subdued on Tuesday, with disappointing earnings and trade anxiety keeping investors on edge.

Media reports suggest that the European Union is preparing to respond with a suite of retaliatory measures under its Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) following U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to impose a 30 percent tariff on EU goods beginning August 1st.

Elsewhere, the prospect of an interim trade deal between the U.S. and India before the August 1st deadline have dimmed due to persistent disagreements over key agricultural and dairy products.

In economic news, the U.K. budget deficit widened sharply in June, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

Public sector net borrowing rose by GBP 6.6 billion from the previous year to GBP 20.7 billion in June. This was bigger than the GBP 17.1 billion shortfall forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility.

Moreover, it was the second-highest borrowing in any June since monthly records began in 1993.

While the German DAX Index is down by 1.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.9 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent.

Dutch paint and coating maker Akzo Nobel NV has tumbled after it reported lower net profit and sales for the second quarter due to adverse currency headwinds and subdued markets.

Swedish engineering group Alfa Laval has also moved to the downside as second quarter orders and sales missed forecasts.

Swiss bank Julius Baer has also moved lower after it reported a sharp decline in profit due to higher loan provisions.

Fragrance and flavor maker Givaudan has also plummeted percent after reporting negative free cash flow of CHF 16 million for the first half of 2025.

Sartorius AG, a German pharmaceutical and laboratory equipment supplier, has also plunged. The company confirmed its guidance for 2025 but noted that its sales revenue and margin forecast does not include possible effects of tariffs or related mitigating and corrective measures.

Meanwhile, Integrum AB shares have soared. The independent bid committee of the company has decided to recommend that the shareholders of the company accept OsteoCentric Oncology and Bone Anchored Prostheses, LLC’s public takeover offer.

U.S. Economic News

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is due to host a fireside chat with Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, to discuss the effects of artificial intelligence on banks, businesses, and consumers and how we can encourage innovation in the banking and financial system at the Integrated Review of the Capital Framework for Large Banks Conference at 12:25 pm ET.