Investing.com - U.S. stock markets struggled for direction on Tuesday, flipping between small gains and losses as investors eyed a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports, as well as the start of the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting.
The blue-chip Dow futures inched up 2 points, or 0.02%, by 10:51GMT, or 6:51AM ET, the S&P 500 futures slipped 2 points, or 0.07%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures added 1 point, or 0.01%.
U.S. stocks receded from record highs on Monday as oil weighed on energy shares and investors awaited an avalanche of quarterly reports.
The earnings season is set to gather momentum on Tuesday, with no less than seven Dow components scheduled throughout the day.
3M Company (NYSE:MMM), Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT), DuPont (NYSE:DD), McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD), United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX) and Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) will report before the opening bell, with Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) due to report after the market close.
As of Monday, 69% of companies having already reported beat estimates, with earnings for the second quarter period from S&P 500 firms estimated to have fallen just 3%, compared to the forecast for a 4.7% decline before the reporting season began.
As for data Tuesday, there is S&P/Case-Shiller home price data at 13:00GMT, or 9:00AM ET, while new home sales and consumer confidence are both scheduled for 14:00GMT, or 10:00AM ET.
Meanwhile, the Fed begins its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday. While the U.S. central bank is not expected to take action on interest rates, market players will scrutinize its policy statement for fresh hints on the timing of interest rate hikes over the next several months.
A recent string of better than expected U.S. data reignited speculation that the Fed will raise interest rates before the end of the year. Fed funds futures are currently pricing in a 52% chance of a rate hike by December, compared with less than 10% at the start of this month.
In Europe, stock markets traded mixed on Tuesday, as traders digest another slew of earnings ahead of the start of the Fed's policy review.
Earlier, Asian equities closed mixed, with Japan's Nikkei 225 falling sharply amid speculation that Japan’s soon-to-be announced stimulus package will disappoint markets.
The yen surged to a more than one-week high against the dollar in wake of the report, with USD/JPY last down 1.3% at 104.44.
Elsewhere, oil prices sank to fresh three-month lows on Tuesday, with the U.S. benchmark sliding below the $43-level for the first time since April, as a global glut of crude and refined products weighed on markets.
U.S. crude was down 41 cents, or 0.95%, to $42.72 a barrel, while Brent shed 28 cents, or 0.62%, to $44.85.