US pre-open: Stocks seen lower; trade data eyed

US futures pointed to slightly weaker open on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors continued to take a breather following recent strong gains.

At 1140 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.1%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were 0.2% lower. US equities fell on Monday as investors considered the prospect of a rate hike by the Federal Reserve later in March, with geopolitical concerns also weighing after North Korea fired four ballistic missiles.

Spreadex's Connor Campbell said: "By the looks of things the US open won’t have much to offer in the way of excitement, the Dow Jones set to stumble out of the starting blocks with a 20 points fall. Since Trump’s speech in front of Congress, and the initial market explosion, the Dow has been at a bit of a loss what to do, gradually trickling lower as focus shifts from the blowhard President to Yellen and co."

Meanwhile, oil prices ticked a touch higher, with West Texas Intermediate up 0.3% to $53.35 a barrel and Brent crude 0.2% firmer at $56.12.

In currency markets, the dollar was up 0.4% versus the pound. Oanda's Craig Erlam said sterling pound was under pressure as Prime Minister Theresa May's difficulty in passing the Brexit bill smoothly through the House of Lords – potentially leading to delays in triggering article 50 without concessions – and some weaker economic data weighed on the currency.

The greenback was 0.1% firmer against the euro, but flat versus the yen.

Jack Daniel’s whiskey parent Brown-Forman Corp, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Michaels Cos. Inc are among the companies slated to report earnings before the opening bell.

On the data front, investors will eye the release of trade balance figures for January at 1330 GMT.

Tony Cross, market analyst for TopTradr, said: "The concern here appears to be that any expansion in the deficit will reignite Donald Trump’s calls for weighty import taxes, and this is a move that is seen as having the potential to slow growth on a global basis.

"With this in mind, anything that comes in a long way from expectations on either side could be seen as having the potential to be dollar positive."

As investors bet the Fed will hike rates at its next meeting this month, the focus will shift to the release of the non-farm payrolls report at the end of the week for signs of continued growth, with analysts expecting the US economy to have added 186,000 jobs last month.

The unemployment rate and wage growth components will also be watched closely.