U.S. Stocks May Regain Ground Following Yesterday’s Sell-Off

Following the sell-off seen in the previous session, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.2 percent.

Traders may look to pick up stocks at reduced levels following yesterday’s slump, which dragged the Dow down to its lowest closing level in a month.

Buying interest may be somewhat subdued, however, as uncertainty about tariffs continues to weigh on investors’ minds.

Traders may also be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of quarterly results from AI chipmaker and market leader Nvidia (NVDA) are the close of Wednesday’s trading.

“Investors have plenty to worry about, and Nvidia’s results on Wednesday have the potential to make or break the market depending on what it says about AI,” said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.

He added, “The market has this year shown widespread concerns about all things linked to AI, from excessive spending to business models being disrupted, so Nvidia needs to retain its uber-bullish stance if it wants to avoid stirring the pot of worry for investors.”

Not long after the start of trading, the Conference Board is due to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of February. The consumer confidence index is expected to jump to 88.0 in February from 84.5 in January.

After turning in a strong performance last week, stocks moved sharply lower during trading on Monday. The major averages all showed significant moves to the downside, with the Dow tumbling to its lowest closing level in a month.

The major averages ended the day off their lows of the session but still firmly negative. The Dow slumped 821.91 points or 1.7 percent to 48,804.06, the Nasdaq slid 258.80 points or 1.1 percent to 22,627.27 and the S&P 500 declined 71.76 points or 1.0 percent to 6,837.75.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index and China’s Shanghai Composite Index both advanced by 0.9 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index dove by 1.8 percent.

The major European markets have also turned mixed on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $0.83 to $67.14 a barrel after slipping $0.17 to $66.31 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after surging $144.70 to $5,225.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $70 to $5,155.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.04 yen compared to the 154.62 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1769 compared to yesterday’s $1.1784.