Investing.com - Wall Street futures pointed to a lower open on Tuesday as investors digesting earnings from Morgan Stanley and political remarks on both the strength of the dollar and Britain’s plans to leave the European Union (EU) known as a Brexit.
The blue-chip Dow futures lost 68 points, or 0.34%, by 7:04AM ET (12:04GMT), the S&P 500 futures fell 9 points, or 0.40%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 19 points, or 0.38%.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) saw shares jump 1.6% in pre-market trade as the bank reported earnings per share and revenue that topped analyst forecasts.
Dow component UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) also reported quarterly results Tuesday that beat consensus on both the top and bottom line.
Meanwhile, markets were taking stock of political comments on the so-called Brexit as U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May outlined plans for negotiating new trade agreements as the country exits the EU single market.
During May’s speech, markets appeared to digest her words as an indication that the British government would work to negotiate a soft Brexit with cable adding to earlier gains after it was reported that the U.K.’s inflation rate climbed more than expected last month, touching the highest level since 2014, as a weaker pound pushed up consumer prices.
At 7:06AM ET (12:06GMT), GBP/USD was last up 1.72% at 1.2255, near an intraday high of 1.2278 hit during the speech.
The U.K. Brexit Secretary David Davis was scheduled to give a speech to Parliament at 8:30AM ET (13:30GMT).
Stateside, the U.S. dollar collapsed to one-month low against a basket of major currencies after President-elect Donald Trump warned that the greenback was “too strong,” according to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
Anthony Scaramucci, a senior member of Donald Trump’s economic advisory council, reiterated that sentiment on Tuesday, warning about the risk from a stronger dollar.
Meanwhile, Trump warned that the border adjustment provision, a feature of House Republicans' plan that would tax imports and exempt exports, is "too complicated."
The comments added to growing uncertainty over U.S. economic policy ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration later this week.
The dollar index fell to as low as 100.44 earlier, a level not seen since December 8.
Meanwhile, oil prices traded up more than 1% on Tuesday, buoyed by the weaker dollar and the continuing flow of comments surrounding the deal to reduce global production.
Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Monday that the kingdom will adhere strictly to its commitment to cut output under a global agreement, expressing confidence that OPEC's plan to prop up prices would work.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry event in Abu Dhabi, Falih added that OPEC and non-OPEC producers are unlikely to extend their agreement to cut oil output beyond six months, citing the level of compliance with the deal and the rebalancing of the market.
On Tuesday, United Arab Emirates energy minister Suhail Mazroui reportedly said it was too early to say if major oil producers would need to renew the deal to curb output when it ends in roughly six months, but indicated he saw a drop in global inventory levels.
U.S. crude futures gained 1.20% to $53.00 by 7:07AM ET (12:07GMT), while Brent oil advanced 1.06% to $56.45.