Investing.com - Wall Street futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Tuesday in what was expected to be muted trade ahead of the holiday season with a handful of earnings reports likely to be the main points of reference for the session.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 26 points, or 0.13%, by 6:46AM ET (11:46GMT), the S&P 500 futures advanced 4 points, or 0.17%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 6 points, or 0.11%.
With no major economic reports released on Tuesday, investors were likely to focus on earnings out before the bell from the likes of Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI), General Mills (NYSE:GIS), CarMax (NYSE:KMX) and Blackberry (TO:BB). FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and Nike (NYSE:NKE) would be in the spotlight with their own releases after the close.
With many traders already on holidays, volume was expected to be light and movements subdued.
The dollar was bouncing back toward its 14-year high against a basket of major currencies on Tuesday with markets focused on the possibility of further U.S. interest rate hikes next year.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.28% at 103.36 by 6:48AM ET (11:48GMT), coming within sight of its 14-year peak of 103.55 touched last week.
Optimistic remarks on the U.S. labor market by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen strengthened the possibility of further rate hikes next year.
Speaking at the University of Baltimore’s midyear commencement ceremony Monday, Yellen said recent improvements in the economy have created one of the strongest job markets in years for graduates.
The speech came a few days after the U.S. central bank hiked interest rates for the first time in a year and projected three more increases in 2017, up from the two projected in September.
In currency pairs moving on Tuesday’s news, the greenback climbed 0.64% to 117.86 against the yen, as fresh buying emerged after the Bank of Japan kept monetary policy unchanged at its final meeting of the year on Tuesday.
The BOJ affirmed its twin targets of minus 0.10% interest on some excess reserves and the 0.0% 10-year government bond yield. The central bank also raised its assessment of the economy for the first time since May 2015, noting that “exports have picked up.”
The euro slipped 0.20% to 1.0380 against the dollar, edging near last week's low of 1.0365, its weakest level since January 2003, in the wake of separate deadly incidents in Turkey and Germany.
The Russian ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, was shot and killed at an art gallery in the Turkish capital of Ankara Monday evening.
A few hours later, a truck plowed into a crowded Christmas market in central Berlin, killing 12 people and injuring up to 50 others in what Germany officials said looked like a terror attack.
Meanwhile, oil prices held below 17-month highs on Tuesday, as traders awaited further clarity on whether major crude producers will stick to their promise to pull back on output starting in January.
Adding fuel to the bullish trend, investors looked ahead to U.S. crude inventory data from the American Petroleum Institute, amid expectations for a sharp draw of 2.4 million barrels.
U.S. crude futures gained 0.57% to $53.36 by 6:51AM ET (11:51GMT), while Brent oil rose 0.97% to $55.45.