Futures Pointing To Continued Strength On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to see further upside following the advance seen in the previous session.

A sharp increase by shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) may contribute to early strength on Wall Street, as the AI-powered software provider is spiking by 11.7 percent in pre-market trading.

The surge by Palantir comes after the company reported better than expected fourth quarter results and provided upbeat guidance.

Mining stocks are also likely to see initial strength as the prices of gold and silver skyrocket following a recent nosedive.

However, buying interest may be somewhat subdued as traders keep an eye on developments in Washington, where the House is set to vote on a funding bill to end a partial government shutdown.

As a result of the shutdown, the Labor Department has delayed the release of this morning’s report on job openings as well as the more closely watched monthly jobs report originally due to be released on Friday.

Following the mixed performance seen last week, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the Dow posting a standout gain.

The major averages pulled back off their best levels late in the day but remained in positive territory. The Dow jumped 515.19 points or 1.1 percent to 49,407.66, the Nasdaq climbed 130.29 points or 0.6 percent to 23,592.11 and the S&P 500 rose 37.41 points or 0.5 percent to 6,976.44.

The strength on Wall Street came following the release of a report from the Institute for Supply Management showing manufacturing activity in the U.S. unexpectedly expanded for the first time in 12 months in January.

The ISM said its manufacturing PMI jumped to 52.6 in January from 47.9 in December, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to inch up to 48.5.

The upbeat economic data helped traders shrug off lingering trade tensions along with renewed uncertainty over U.S. monetary policy.

Stocks also benefitted from signs of de-escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran amid reports Iran is prepared to negotiate with the U.S. over its nuclear program.

The markets saw continued strength after President Donald Trump announced in a post on Truth Social that he has reached a trade deal with India.

Following a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump said the U.S. would reduced its reciprocal tariffs on India to 18 percent from 25 percent, while India purportedly agreed to reduce their tariffs and non-tariff barriers against the U.S. to zero.

However, traders seemed somewhat reluctant to make more significant moves ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report on Friday.

The report, which is expected to show employment climbed by 70,000 jobs in January after rising by 50,000 jobs in December, could impact the outlook for interest rates.

Airline stocks turned in some of the market’s best performances on the day, with the NYSE Arca Airline Index soaring by 4.3 percent.

Substantial strength was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 4.2 percent surge by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Banking, semiconductor and retail stocks also saw considerable strength, while energy stocks moved to the downside amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are climbing $0.36 to $62.50 a barrel after plummeting $3.07 to $62.14 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $92.50 to $4,652.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are soaring $308.60 to $4,961.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.83 yen compared to the 155.60 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1798 compared to yesterday’s $1.1789.

Asia

Asian stocks advanced on Tuesday as precious metals clawed back some ground after a historic sell-off and U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he agreed to a trade deal with India, helping ease trade tensions.

Gold and silver futures recovered today after a steep sell-off triggered by the nomination of Kevin Warsh as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Gold traded up nearly 5 percent at $4,887 an ounce in Asian trading but analysts warned the turbulence isn’t over.

The dollar held on to its gains after the release of upbeat U.S. manufacturing data and amid reports that the House of Representatives will likely pass the shutdown-ending funding package today.

Nevertheless, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced that the partial government shutdown will cause a delay to the December JOLTs data as well as Friday’s January jobs report.

Oil extended losses in Asian trading after falling more than 4 percent on Monday amid signs of de-escalation in U.S.-Iran tensions. Iran and the United States are set to resume indirect nuclear negotiations on Friday in Istanbul.

Trump has presented a stark choice regarding Iran, stating that reaching a deal would be positive but failure could lead to “bad things.”

China’s Shanghai Composite Index rallied 1.3 percent to 4,067.74 as metal prices recovered and AI optimism prevailed. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index edged up by 0.2 percent to 26,834.77 on easing geopolitical tensions.

Japanese markets soared to a record high, with chip-related stocks leading the surge. The Nikkei 225 Index spiked 3.9 percent to 54,720.66 as polls showed Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s party is headed towards a landslide victory in the House of Representatives election on Sunday.

It is believed that a strong showing in Sunday’s election would solidify Takaichi’s grip on her party and give her a mandate for her expansionary fiscal policy. The broader Topix Index settled 3.1 percent higher at 3,645.84.

Disco Corp, shot up 7.4 percent, Tokyo Electron surged 4.8 percent and Advantest soared 7.1 percent. While TDK Corp. spiked 11.4 percent on robust financial results, Yamaha Motor plunged 10.1 percent on a profit warning.

In South Korea, stocks shot up by the most in six years to hit a record high due to bargain hunting, following the previous day’s plunge.

The Kospi soared 6.8 percent to 5,288.08, led by technology stocks. Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix surged 11.4 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively.

Australian markets recovered from a three-week low as the Reserve Bank of Australia raised its benchmark policy rate for the first time in two years and signaled another move is on the table to curb higher inflation.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.9 percent to 8,857.10, boosted by mining and gold stocks. The broader All Ordinaries Index closed up 0.9 percent at 9,149.30.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index finished marginally higher at 13,421.52 after a choppy session.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Tuesday after surging to record highs earlier in the session.

The early rally came as commodity markets stabilized, trade and geopolitical tensions eased, and the U.S. Congress prepared to vote on a spending bill to end the government shutdown.

Investors also cheered data that showed French inflation unexpectedly eased to a five-year low last month, raising a further possibility that eurozone inflation could be below the European Central Bank’s target for longer this year.

While the German DAX Index is up by 0.3 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.2 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.7 percent.

Finnish utility Fortum Oyj has moved to the downside after its 2025 earnings came in below expectations.

Swedish engineering group Alfa Laval has also fallen after reporting a sequential decrease in fourth quarter margins.

Publicis Groupe shares have plunged. The French advertising group announced a profit for the full year that dropped from the previous year.

Dutch paints maker Akzo Nobel has also slumped after adjusted EBITDA, a key earnings metric, dropped in its fourth quarter on weak revenues.

Drug maker AstraZeneca has also dropped in London after the U.S. FDA rejected a subcutaneous version of its lupus medicine that would make it easier to administer.

Meanwhile, Amundi has rallied. The asset manager reported higher-than-expected net inflows in the fourth quarter as clients seek diversification in Europe and away from the U.S. dollar.

German wind turbine manufacturer Nordex has also risen after securing a 189MW order from OX2 for turbines at the Fagerasen wind farm in Sweden.

U.S. Economic News

No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today.