Investing.com – U.S. futures were up on Tuesday ahead of earnings releases, as the Federal Open Market Committee’s two day meeting kicks off.
The S&P 500 futures increased three points or 0.14% as of 6:57 AM ET (11:57 AM GMT) while Dow futures rose 29 points or 0.12%. Tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures was up 14 points or 0.23%.
Oil firm BP (LON:BP) PLC ADR (NYSE:BP) was among the biggest winners in pre-market trading, rising 2.93% after its earnings came in higher than expected. Conglomerate Sony Corp ADR (NYSE:SNE) jumped 6.95% after it raised its earnings outlook. Bank stocks were also doing well, with HSBC Holdings (LON:HSBA) PLC ADR (NYSE:HSBC) increasing 0.16% and Santander (MC:SAN) up 0.45%.
Meanwhile Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) continued to fall after a report from Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) on the decreasing demand of cryptocurrency. The microchip makers shares were down 2.11%. Telecommunications equipment firm Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) slumped 6.70% on news that Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) could build its next iPhone’s without the company’s chips.
A flurry of data is expected Tuesday afternoon. Chicago PMI is expected at 9:45 AM ET (1:45 PM GMT) while consumer confidence will be released at 10:00 AM ET (2:00 PM GMT).
The FOMC is starting its two day meeting on Tuesday, with an interest rate decision set on Wednesday. Investors will be on the lookout for any indication of how the economy is doing. Investors will also watch for the financial results of Mastercard Inc (NYSE:MA), Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Kellogg Company (NYSE:K), which come out on Tuesday, among others.
Turbulence in United States politics could also shake up markets. President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was placed under house arrest on Monday after he pleaded not guilty to 12-counts in federal court, including money laundering and links to foreign lobbying groups. Court filings also showed that George Papadopolous, Trump’s former advisor, pleaded guilty to giving false information to the FBI about his Russian contacts.
In Europe, stocks were at five month highs. In France the CAC 40 rose five points to 0.11% and in London, the FTSE 100 increased seven points or 0.10%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 was up eight points or 0.22% while Spain’s IBEX 35 jumped 92 points or 0.88%. Germany’s DAX was closed for a national holiday.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.25% to $1,274.56 a troy ounce while crude oil futures slipped 0.18% to $54.05 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, increased 0.17% to 94.54.