US pre-open: Stocks seen higher ahead of Apple earnings
US futures pointed to a firmer open on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors eyed earnings from the likes of Apple and Pfizer and a raft of data releases.
At 1130 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.5% and looked set to kick the session off at another all-time high, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were up 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: “US futures are pointing to a higher open on Tuesday as traders await another batch of earnings reports and some important economic releases from the world’s largest economy.
“It’s been a very good earnings season so far which is helping to sustain US stocks at record highs and offset any disappointment with Donald Trump’s inability to make progress on his growth policies. After a slow start to the week, the number of companies reporting will pick up again from today, with Apple unsurprisingly the one that stands out, reporting after the closing bell.
“While earnings season will continue to be a key driver of sentiment in the markets, there’s a lot of economic data being released today, much of which will be of keen interest to the Federal Reserve and therefore traders. The most notable of these will be the core PCE price index - the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation - which is expected to weaken for a fourth consecutive month and cast further doubt on whether the Fed should still be considering another rate hike this year.”
On the corporatre front, Pfizer, Xerox, Steven Madden, Sprint Corp, Under Armour and Royal Caribbean Cruises were all scheduled to report before the opening bell.
After the close, earnings were due from technology giant Apple, Match Group and Herbalife. RBC Capital Markets said its third-quarter revenue and earnings per share estimates for Apple of $44.9bn and $1.58 are largely in line with consensus.
The macroeconomic calendar was also looking fairly packed. Data on personal income and consumer spending is due at 1330 BST, while Markit’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index is at 1445 BST and the ISM manufacturing PMI is at 1500 BST, along with construction spending.
Investors will also be keeping an eye on the political front after White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci was removed from his post on Monday after just 10 days in the job.