Investing.com - Wall Street futures pointed to a flat to higher open on Tuesday as investors digested the presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, kept an eye on developments in oil ahead of Wednesday’s meeting and waited for Nike’s earning report.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 44 points, or 0.24%, by 7:05AM ET (11:05AM GMT), the S&P 500 futures rose 6 points, or 0.29%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 14 points, or 0.28%.
Although the U.S. stock futures turned higher at the conclusion of the event, the rally began to ebb throughout Tuesday, with the Dow futures off highs seen immediately following the televised event,
Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton appeared to have edged out her Republican opponent Donald Trump in the first presidential debate, based on analysts' take on the market reaction.
Online betting companies shortened the odds on a Clinton win in the wake of the Monday night debate, leaving her as the clear favorite among bettors.
Several analysts pointed to the 2% surge in the Mexican peso as evidence of the fact that markets seemed to interpret a victory for the Democratic nominee.
The peso is considered a market barometer of the U.S. presidential election due to its close trade ties with the U.S. and the fact that Trump has indicated a willingness to cut ties with its neighbor, threatening Mexico's exports to the U.S., its single biggest market.
Other experts pointed to the fact that U.S. stock futures turned higher after the debate and suggested that Clinton was seen as keeping the status quo, while markets were concerned about the uncertainty surrounding how Trump would deal with foreign trade.
Recent polls have shown a tightening race with just around six weeks to go until the November 8 election. The next presidential debate is scheduled for October 9, with the third and final clash set for October 19.
Also in focus, oil prices were under pressure early Tuesday after Saudi Arabia appeared to play down expectations for any supply policy decision during Wednesday's meeting.
Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Tuesday that talks among OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers in Algiers this week are consultative, casting doubt on the chances of any policy decision during the meeting. His comments follow similar remarks from Iran's oil minister on Monday.
Though several major oil producers had recently talked up the possibility of reaching at least an initial agreement on Wednesday, experts were skeptical that concrete steps would be taken to curb production in the short-term.
Along the same lines, the International Energy Agency (IEA) underlined concern about the global supply glut, saying that it doesn’t expect an oil-market rebalancing until “late 2017”.
That was slightly more bearish than a previous call that saw output outpacing demand “at least through the first half of next year”.
U.S. crude futures tumbled 1.52% to $45.23 by 7:07AM ET (11:07AM GMT), while Brent oil slumped 1.67% to $47.12.
Meanwhile on Tuesday’s economic calendar, investors will digest the Conference Board’s consumer confidence reading for September, along with the Richmond manufacturing index for the same month at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT).
Earlier, markets will take measure of activity in the U.S. service sector with Markit’s preliminary gauge for September at 9:45AM ET (13:45GMT) and the July S&P/CaseShiller house price index at 9:00AM ET (13:00GMT).
Furthermore, investors waited for a speech from Federal Reserve vice chairman Stanley Fischer at the Howard University Economic Convocation at 11:15AM ET (15:15GMT).
On the company front stateside, all eyes were on Nike’s (NYSE:NKE) earnings report. The sports apparel giant will publish its quarterly numbers after the market close.
Elsewhere, European and U.K. stocks started the session higher on U.S. debate-induced rally, but turned lower in mid-morning trade, with Germany's DAX leading losses as weak sentiment towards the region's banking sector weighed. Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) tumbled another 3% on Tuesday on continued concern over the Department of Justice’s $14 billion fine.
Earlier, Asian shares rallied, as investors took heart from an apparent win for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump in the first U.S. presidential debate.