Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, as hopes for further easing measures by the Federal Reserve lifted investor sentiment ahead of the central bank’s policy meeting this week, while concerns over the debt crisis in the euro zone continued to weigh.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.20%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.39% gain.
Market participants were looking ahead to the conclusion of the Fed’s policy meeting on Wednesday, amid speculation over the possibility of a third round of monetary stimulus from the U.S. central bank.
Meanwhile, market sentiment was also lifted by hopes that Greece's New Democracy party will form a coalition government with the socialist Pasok party, which would allow Athens to resume negotiations with creditors on its international bailout deal.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds eased back to 7.08% from a session high of 7.13%, but remained above the critical 7% threshold amid concerns that a EUR100 billion bailout agreed earlier this month may not be enough to overhaul the country’s ailing banking system.
Oracle was expected to be active, after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profit late Monday, releasing the results three days ahead of schedule after news of the pending departure of a senior sales executive fueled concerns that business was stagnating. Shares were up 3.80% in pre-market trade.
Also in computer technology, Microsoft saw shares advance 0.64% in early trading after introducing its own line of tablets on Monday at a press event in Los Angeles. The move marked a major strategic shift for the software company in its battle to compete with Apple.
Meanwhile, Groupon added 0.18% in after hour trade, ahead of the company’s shareholder meeting. Shares in the daily-deal website surged over 10% on Monday after Morgan Stanley upgraded them to "overweight".
Financials were also very likely to move on Tuesday, due to sustained euro zone concerns. In addition, Julius Baer was said to be in talks with Bank of America about buying Merrill Lynch's non-U.S. wealth management unit, reported to be worth up to USD2 billion.
JPMorgan shares added 0.32% in after hour trade, as the U.S. bank was expected to provide an update on its chief investment office when it reports second-quarter financial results on July 13. Following the lender’s recent USD2 billion trading loss, the U.S. banking industry was also reportedly wary of possible moves to cap the size of Wall Street firms, Bloomberg reported.
According to the New York Times, Goldman Sachs has now paid for most of former board member Rajat Gupta’s legal defense in an insider trading case that led to his conviction. Shares in the lender rose 0.36% in late trading on Monday.
Other stocks in focus included FedEx, Barnes & Noble and Adobe System, all due to report earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.41%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.30%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.55%, while Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 0.90%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.8%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and housing starts. Elsewhere, leaders from the Group of 20 nations were to hold a second day of talks in Los Cabos, Mexico.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.20%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.18% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.39% gain.
Market participants were looking ahead to the conclusion of the Fed’s policy meeting on Wednesday, amid speculation over the possibility of a third round of monetary stimulus from the U.S. central bank.
Meanwhile, market sentiment was also lifted by hopes that Greece's New Democracy party will form a coalition government with the socialist Pasok party, which would allow Athens to resume negotiations with creditors on its international bailout deal.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds eased back to 7.08% from a session high of 7.13%, but remained above the critical 7% threshold amid concerns that a EUR100 billion bailout agreed earlier this month may not be enough to overhaul the country’s ailing banking system.
Oracle was expected to be active, after the company reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profit late Monday, releasing the results three days ahead of schedule after news of the pending departure of a senior sales executive fueled concerns that business was stagnating. Shares were up 3.80% in pre-market trade.
Also in computer technology, Microsoft saw shares advance 0.64% in early trading after introducing its own line of tablets on Monday at a press event in Los Angeles. The move marked a major strategic shift for the software company in its battle to compete with Apple.
Meanwhile, Groupon added 0.18% in after hour trade, ahead of the company’s shareholder meeting. Shares in the daily-deal website surged over 10% on Monday after Morgan Stanley upgraded them to "overweight".
Financials were also very likely to move on Tuesday, due to sustained euro zone concerns. In addition, Julius Baer was said to be in talks with Bank of America about buying Merrill Lynch's non-U.S. wealth management unit, reported to be worth up to USD2 billion.
JPMorgan shares added 0.32% in after hour trade, as the U.S. bank was expected to provide an update on its chief investment office when it reports second-quarter financial results on July 13. Following the lender’s recent USD2 billion trading loss, the U.S. banking industry was also reportedly wary of possible moves to cap the size of Wall Street firms, Bloomberg reported.
According to the New York Times, Goldman Sachs has now paid for most of former board member Rajat Gupta’s legal defense in an insider trading case that led to his conviction. Shares in the lender rose 0.36% in late trading on Monday.
Other stocks in focus included FedEx, Barnes & Noble and Adobe System, all due to report earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.41%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.30%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.55%, while Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 0.90%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 0.8%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building permits and housing starts. Elsewhere, leaders from the Group of 20 nations were to hold a second day of talks in Los Cabos, Mexico.