Investing.com - Here are the top five things you need to know in financial markets on Tuesday, May 1:
1. Apple Reports Earnings
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) results due out after the market close will be today's main event, as a busy week for earnings rolls along.
The world’s largest company by market cap is expected to report adjusted earnings of $2.70 per share for its fiscal second-quarter on revenue of $61.19 billion, according to analyst estimates.
More importantly, investors will be looking for details on sales figures for the iPhone X and whether demand for the company’s flagship device is flagging.
The company is expected to report iPhone shipments of just under 51 million over the three-month period that ended in March.
Apple shares rose nearly 2% on Monday, while the broader market declined, amid reports that the tech giant could announce a record-breaking boost to its stock buyback and dividend plan to soften the blow from weaker iPhone sales when it posts quarterly results.
The iPhone-maker's stock has been slammed in recent weeks due to worries over slowing phone sales, losing around 10% from its all-time high in March.
Besides Apple, a slew of S&P 500 companies are also set to report results on Tuesday.
Before the market open, Pfizer (NYSE:PFE), Merck (NYSE:MRK), Aetna (NYSE:AET), Cummins (NYSE:CMI), Under Armour (NYSE:UA), Shopify (NYSE:SHOP), Grubhub (NYSE:GRUB) and Lumber Liquidators (NYSE:LL) will be the highlights.
After the close, joining Apple, will be Snap (NYSE:SNAP), Allstate (NYSE:ALL), Mondelez (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Gilead (NASDAQ:GILD), Suncor Energy (NYSE:SU), Devon Energy (NYSE:DVN) and Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC).
2. Federal Reserve Kicks Off Policy meeting
The Federal Reserve begins its two-day policy meeting today, with a decision due Wednesday afternoon.
The U.S. central bank is not expected to take any action on interest rates, but will likely further encourage expectations that it will lift borrowing costs in June on the back of rising inflation and low unemployment.
The Fed currently forecasts another two rate rises this year, although an increasing number of policymakers see three as possible.
Besides the Fed, there is a batch of data on today's economic calendar, including ISM manufacturing activity, construction spending and monthly auto sales.
3. Dollar Rallies To 2018 Highs
The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a basket of six major currencies, rallied to its highest levels of the calendar year, ahead of the Fed's meeting and a fresh batch of economic data.
It was up around 0.4% at 91.97, after touching a high of 92.03, a level last seen on January 11.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield stood at 2.957%, staying below the 3%-threshold. It climbed to a more than four-year peak of 3.035% last week.
The dollar hit 12-week highs against the yen, with USD/JPY rising to 109.60.
Meanwhile, the euro sank to its lowest level since January 11, with EUR/USD last at 1.2037. The single currency continued lower amid reduced expectations that the European Central Bank will soon start scaling back its stimulus program.
Sterling was also lower, with GBP/USD trading at four-month lows 1.3690, after weak UK factory data further cut chances for a near term rate hike by the Bank of England.
4. U.S. Stock Futures Point To Weak Open
U.S. stock futures pointed to a weak open, as investors prepped for another busy day of earnings and economic data heading into a traditionally difficult month for financial markets.
The blue-chip Dow futures fell 60 points, or about 0.3%, the S&P 500 futures declined 4 points, or nearly 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 18 points, or roughly 0.3%.
U.S. stocks fell on Monday, giving up gains seen earlier in the session, as the telecommunications sector suffered a sharp pullback.
Elsewhere, in Europe, stocks inched higher, with UK equities driving the market action as most of the region’s markets were closed for the May Day holiday.
Earlier, in Asia, markets in the region closed mixed, though many bourses were shut for a public holiday.
5. Oil Pulls Back As Focus Shifts to U.S. Supply Data
Crude prices were lower, pulling back after rallying on worries that U.S. President Donald Trump may pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Investors now turned their attention to fresh data on U.S. commercial crude inventories to gauge the strength of demand in the world’s largest oil consumer and how fast output levels will continue to rise.
Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 4:30PM ET (2030GMT), amid forecasts for an oil-stock gain of around 1.2 million barrels.
New York-traded WTI crude futures lost 65 cents, or about 1%, to $67.92 per barrel, while Brent futures declined 60 cents, or 0.8%, to $74.09 per barrel.