US pre-open: Futures in the green following Powell comments
Wall Street futures were pointing to modest gains ahead of the bell on Tuesday as market participants digested comments from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell regarding rate hikes.
As of 1250 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.41%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.24% and 0.05% higher, respectively.
The Dow closed 201.94 points lower on Monday amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the crash of a passenger plane in China.
Comments from the Fed chair from a day earlier were still on focus ahead of the bell on Tuesday, with Powell potentially opening the door for the central bank to take a more aggressive monetary policy stance moving forward. Powell stated the Fed must move "expeditiously" to bring too-high inflation under control, adding it will, if needed, use bigger-than-usual interest rate hikes to do so.
Commodity prices were also drawing an amount of investor attention, with Brent futures easing off after surging in the previous session on the back of news that the European Union was mulling over the idea of banning Russian oil.
Investors were also continuing to closely watch the conflict in Eastern Europe, with president Joe Biden stating Russian president Vladimir Putin's back was "against the wall" as his war with Ukraine nears a stalemate.
On the macro front, March's Richmond Fed manufacturing index will be published at 1400 GMT, while Federal Reserve presidents John Williams, Mary Daly and Loretta Master will all deliver speeches later on in the day.
In the corporate space, Nikes shares were in the green after the retailer posted third-quarter earnings that beat on both the top and bottom line thanks to solid demand in North America.
Carnival will report earnings before the opening bell, while Adobe will update on recent trading after the close.