Investing.com –Wall Street futures traded slightly lower on Tuesday, indicating a pause after the major indices closed at record highs in the prior session, while investors looked ahead to a smattering of data, comments from Federal Reserve (Fed) officials and a handful of earnings.
The blue-chip Dow futures fell 28 points, or 0.15%, by 10:53AM GMT, or 6:53AM ET, the S&P 500 futures dropped 3 points, or 0.11%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 4 points, or 0.08%.
Market participants will keep a close eye on July inflation readings to see if it might sway the Fed to move sooner or later on its return to monetary policy normalization.
Headline inflation was expected to ease to growth of 0.9% from a year earlier, while core consumer price inflation (CPI) was forecast to remain at an advance of 2.3%.
Along with the CPI data, building permits and housing starts for July will be released at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET.
Later at 13:15GMT, or 9:15AM ET, the Federal Reserve will release industrial production for July.
With market participants looking ahead to Wednesday’s release of the minutes from the last Fed policy meeting, UBS said in a note that they expect the document to be paving the way for a rate hike at the December meeting.
Fed fund futures, meanwhile, don’t count on a move this year, with the odds for a hike in December at only 41.9%.
The U.S. dollar crashed to the lowest level in nearly eight weeks on Tuesday, as the market adjusted to a view that the Fed could remain on hold for the rest of the year.
Both Atlanta Fed president Dennis Lockhart and St. Louis Fed chief James Bullard were scheduled to speak later on Tuesday.
Among a handful of earnings reports, Dow component Home Depot (NYSE:HD) released numbers that were in line with consensus on both the top and bottom line. Shares in the world’s largest home improvement retailer were down 0.4% in pre-market trade.
Shares in Advance Auto Parts Inc (NYSE:AAP) were off more than 2% in the pre-market after second quarter earnings-per-share missed by 23 cents.
Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE:DKS) and The TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) were among other companies expected to report before the opening bell, while Cree Inc (NASDAQ:CREE) or Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) were among firms set to publish after the market close.
Meanwhile, oil prices rose again on Tuesday, extending an impressive three-day rally which boosted prices by nearly 10% amid indications major oil producers are reconsidering a collective production freeze in a bid to boost the market.
U.S. crude futures gained 0.55% to $45.99 by 10:56AM GMT, or 6:56AM ET, while Brent oil rose 0.56% to $48.62
Elsewhere, European and U.K. stocks were down modestly Tuesday, though gains in the oil market kept the decline somewhat in check. Euro zone economic sentiment recovered more than expected in August, though the German data, the motor of the region’s economy, missed consensus.
Headline inflation in the U.K. rose more than forecast in July as a weak pound began to push up import prices.
Earlier, Asian shares closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 leading losses due to a surging yen.