US pre-open: Stocks lower as Treasury yields remain in focus

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Tuesday as Treasury yields continued to rise and Q3 earnings remained firmly in focus.

As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.43%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.48% and 0.58% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 344.31 points lower on Monday, snapping the blue-chip's winning streak at three sessions.

Treasury yields were drawing an amount of investor attention early on Tuesday, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note sitting at 4.213% after surging roughly twelve basis points in the previous session to 4.19%.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "Yields are a touch firmer again this morning, and this is weighing on equities to some extent. The move suggests that investors are reassessing the timing and size of future rate cuts from the Fed’s FOMC. While the probability of a 25 basis point cut at next month’s meeting is still around the 90% mark, it has drifted lower over the past week. Perhaps more significantly, the probability of a repeat cut at the December meeting has fallen from 85% last week to 67% today. Unfortunately, the CME’s FedWatch Tool is less clear over the expected path of cuts for 2025."

Tuesday's other primary focus will be Q3 earnings season, which will pick up some steam this week, with General Motors shares higher after the automotive giant reported a big profit beat and raised its full-year outlook, and 3M hiking the lower end of its FY adjusted profit guidance on the back of recovering demand in Q3.

Still to come, Lockheed Martin will report earnings before the end of the day.

On the macro front, October's Richmond Fed manufacturing index will be published at 1500 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com