US pre-open: Futures in the red after satellite catches Russian convoy heading towards Kyiv
Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Tuesday as market participants continued to monitor the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine after satellite cameras allegedly captured images of a convoy of Russian military vehicles en route to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.69%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.74% and 0.79% lower, respectively.
The Dow closed 166.15 points lower on Monday as Russian and Ukraine officials arrived at the border to discuss potentially calling a stop to hostilities between the two sides.
Although Russian and Ukrainian emissaries wrapped up a critical round of talks on Monday, a roughly 65.0km long convoy of Russian military vehicles was caught by US firm Maxar Technologies' satellite heading toward Kyiv, indicating that Moscow may actually be upping the ante in the invasion of its western neighbour.
The image appears to show a convoy of Russian armoured tanks and trucks that stretches from Pybirsk to the Antonov airport, the site of fighting last week between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Official sources have not yet confirmed the existence of the convoy.
Energy prices continued to rise, with West Texas Intermediate oil up more than 3% to $98.87 per barrel, while Brent crude climbed almost 4% to $101.68. Going the other way, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note moved lower and was most recently at 1.74%.
On the macro front, IHS Markit's final February manufacturing PMI will be published at 1445 GMT, while last month's Institute for Supply Management manufacturing PMI will follow at 1500 GMT.
In the corporate space, Kohls, Target, Wendys and Domino's Pizza were all slated to report before the open, while Urban Outfitters and Salesforce will update on recent earnings after the close.