US pre-open: Futures slightly lower as attention turns toward data
Wall Street futures had stocks opening slightly lower ahead of the bell on Tuesday as fears regarding the current state of the US banking sector continue to recede and traders turn their attention towards a number of data points.
As of 1225 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.09%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.17% and 0.21% weaker, respectively.
The Dow closed 194.55 points lower on Monday, building on last week's gains and putting banking sector fears in the rear view mirror.
Multiple macro points will be in focus throughout the course of the day, with goods trade balance figures for last month and an advance reading of February's wholesale inventories report set to be published at 1230 BST, January's house price index slated for release at 1300 BST and March's consumer confidence figures following along at 1400 BST.
Scope Markets' James Hughes said: "Macroeconomic data remains thin on the ground and what we've seen so far – an undershoot from the Dallas Fed and an acknowledgement from the Federal Reserve that the banking crisis may well hit smaller companies – is far from inspiring.
"A shock in today's house price index release could inject some fresh momentum, but right now the theme seems to be one of cautious optimism. With inflation appearing set to remain stubbornly high for some time yet and the Fed arguably tempering its stance on rate hikes – even if an outright pivot is some time away – has the potential to bode well for asset valuations in general."
Federal Reserve banker Michael Barr will also deliver comments before the Senate Banking Committee and will be speaking on recent bank failures and central bank's response.
In the corporate space, Lyft shares rallied in pre-market trading after the rideshareing giant named its new chief executive and revealed that its co-founders will step away from their day-to-day roles with the firm.
Walgreens Boots Alliance, Micron Technology and McCormick will all report earnings on Tuesday.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com