US pre-open: Stocks mixed ahead of manufacturing data

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Tuesday as major indices looked set to kick off Q4 trading on a somewhat muted note.

As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.19%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.03% and 0.19% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 17.15 points higher on Monday, capping off an unexpectedly strong September performance.

Tuesday's primary focus will be the Institute of Supply Management's manufacturing index at 1500 BST, with market participants hoping to gain some fresh insight into the state of the US economy and potentially assuage some fears surrounding a potential US recession.

Comments from Federal Reserve bankers Raphael Bostic, Lisa Cook, Tom Barkin, and Susan Collins will also draw an amount of attention on Tuesday as traders try to figure out just what the central bank's next move may be before the nation head's to the polls in November.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "All eyes turn towards the US ISM manufacturing PMI release today, with the substantial risk-off moves seen following the past two releases bringing heightened caution for traders. The uncertainty around a potential US recession will always be more prominent when looking at the manufacturing sector, although there is a strong chance that this is simply an industrial recession rather than a country-wide one.

"Today also brings a raft of comments from Federal Reserve members, coming in the wake of a Powell appearance that appeared to take a somewhat calm tone. With markets seeking to pour through each fresh data point with a view to understanding the likeliness of a second consecutive 50bp rate cut, we have started to see a more cautious approach grow where 25bp is now the base case scenario. With the US election around the corner, and the Fed having already kicked off with a strong initial cut, there is a strong chance that they settle into a groove of 25bp cuts in the absence of any particularly concerning deterioration in US data."

Elsewhere on the macro front, S&P Global's September manufacturing PMI will be released at 1445 BST, while monthly construction spending figures and JOLTS job openings data will follow at 1500 BST.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com