Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were steady on Tuesday, as investors awaited the release of a key report on U.S. manufacturing activity, while sustained concerns over the debt crisis in Spain continued to weigh on market sentiment.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.08%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated 0.02% loss.
Sentiment came under pressure after data on Monday confirming that Spain’s economy entered a recession in the first quarter sparked fresh fears that austerity measures could impair economic growth in the euro zone.
Investors were also cautious ahead of a weekend of elections in Greece and France as well as the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday.
In addition, U.S. data on Monday showed that manufacturing activity in the Chicago area slowed significantly more-than-expected in April, while a separate report showed that consumer spending slowed last month.
Delta Airlines was expected to be active as shares fell 0.73% in late trading, after the company announced that it would buy a Pennsylvania oil refinery from ConocoPhillips for USD150 million.
ConocoPhillips saw shares plummet in pre-market trade, losing 10.82% after the news, as did rival BP, down 3.66%, after the oil giant reported a bigger-than-expected drop in profits on Tuesday morning despite an increase in crude prices.
The group said production fell after it was forced to sell fields to pay for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, adding that replacement cost net profit hit USD4.93 billion in the quarter, compared to USD5.61 billion in the same period last year.
Elsewhere, Wal-Mart was likely to be in focus as the leaders of New York City’s pension funds said on Monday they would vote their 4.7 million company shares against five directors standing for re-election to the retailer corporation’s board at its annual shareholder meeting next month.
Concerns were said to be over the company’s reported cover-up of bribery in its Mexico operations, according to the New York Times.
Wal-Mart shares slipped 0.05% in after hour trade.
Financial stocks were also to be closely watched following reports that Bank of America is planning about 2,000 staff cuts in its investment banking, commercial banking and non-U.S. wealth-management units.
Other stocks in focus included Pfizer and Time Warner, due to report first-quarter results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 1.60% and Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.34%.
During the Asian trading session, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.78%, while markets in Hong Kong remained closed for a public holiday. Markets in France and Germany were closed due to national holidays.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a closely watched report by Institute for Supply Management on manufacturing activity.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.08%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.04% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated 0.02% loss.
Sentiment came under pressure after data on Monday confirming that Spain’s economy entered a recession in the first quarter sparked fresh fears that austerity measures could impair economic growth in the euro zone.
Investors were also cautious ahead of a weekend of elections in Greece and France as well as the European Central Bank’s policy meeting on Thursday.
In addition, U.S. data on Monday showed that manufacturing activity in the Chicago area slowed significantly more-than-expected in April, while a separate report showed that consumer spending slowed last month.
Delta Airlines was expected to be active as shares fell 0.73% in late trading, after the company announced that it would buy a Pennsylvania oil refinery from ConocoPhillips for USD150 million.
ConocoPhillips saw shares plummet in pre-market trade, losing 10.82% after the news, as did rival BP, down 3.66%, after the oil giant reported a bigger-than-expected drop in profits on Tuesday morning despite an increase in crude prices.
The group said production fell after it was forced to sell fields to pay for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, adding that replacement cost net profit hit USD4.93 billion in the quarter, compared to USD5.61 billion in the same period last year.
Elsewhere, Wal-Mart was likely to be in focus as the leaders of New York City’s pension funds said on Monday they would vote their 4.7 million company shares against five directors standing for re-election to the retailer corporation’s board at its annual shareholder meeting next month.
Concerns were said to be over the company’s reported cover-up of bribery in its Mexico operations, according to the New York Times.
Wal-Mart shares slipped 0.05% in after hour trade.
Financial stocks were also to be closely watched following reports that Bank of America is planning about 2,000 staff cuts in its investment banking, commercial banking and non-U.S. wealth-management units.
Other stocks in focus included Pfizer and Time Warner, due to report first-quarter results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 plunged 1.60% and Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.34%.
During the Asian trading session, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.78%, while markets in Hong Kong remained closed for a public holiday. Markets in France and Germany were closed due to national holidays.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a closely watched report by Institute for Supply Management on manufacturing activity.