By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Consumer-confidence data on tap premarket
Wall Street was on track to break a five-session run of losses
on Tuesday, shaking off China's continuing rout, with stock futures
tilting higher ahead of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve
meeting.
Investors were also waiting for fresh consumer-confidence
figures and home-price data and well as watching earnings from Ford
Motor Co. (F) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE), among others.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 93 points, or
0.5%, to 17,488, while those for the S&P 500 index added 13.10
points, or 0.6%, to 2,077.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index
picked up 24.25 points, or 0.5%, to 4,547.
The gains came after all three averages closed firmly lower on
Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), tracking
a global selloff that was spurred by an 8.5% slide in the Shanghai
Composite Index , its largest one-day loss in eight years.
The Chinese benchmark continued its rout on Tuesday
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), although the
daily loss was smaller at 1.7%. Read: With China, stock market
manipulation goes global
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/market-manipulation-goes-global-2015-07-27)
Fed meeting: Closer to home, investors will watch the two-day
Federal Reserve meeting that kicks off on Tuesday. A statement is
due at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, likely to be scrutinized for clues to
the timing of a rate hike.
Chairwoman Janet Yellen has previously indicated that a rate
increase is in the cards before the end of the year, possibly as
early as September.
However, expectations for a September move have faded recently,
partly because of the market turmoil in China and a slide in oil
prices.
"The Fed will surely bring the Chinese selloff and commodity
rout under their consideration and will tailor their response
accordingly. We do not think that Yellen will fan the fire any
further by bringing the exact timeline for a rate hike. In fact,
there is a strong possibility that she may water down those
expectations and use a very dovish approach," said Naeem Aslam,
chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a note.
Read: Fed is closer to a September rate hike than many think,
says FedWatch's Tim Duy
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-is-closer-to-a-september-rate-hike-than-many-think-says-fedwatchs-tim-duy-2015-07-27)
The dollar traded mixed against other major currencies ahead of
the Fed meeting, with the ICE dollar index inching 0.3% higher to
96.740.
Data: Consumer-confidence numbers for July are due at 10 a.m.
Eastern Time. They are forecast to show a drop to 99.1 from 101.4
in June
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-consumer-confidence-jumps-past-forecast-in-june-2015-06-30),
according to economists polled by MarketWatch.
At 9 a.m. Eastern, the Case-Shiller home-price index for May
comes out, followed by the Markit services purchasing-managers
index for July at 9:45 a.m. Eastern. The Richmond Fed business
activity survey for July comes out at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Earnings: It's another busy day on the earnings calendar, with
several prominent companies reporting before the bell. Chemicals
major DuPont(DD) said second-quarter per-share earnings fell
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dupont-trims-outlook-on-weak-agricultural-business-2015-07-28)
to $1.03 from $1.15 last year and trimmed its earnings outlook for
the year. Shares declined 1.5% premarket.
Shares of Pfizer Inc.(PFE) climbed 1.1% after the drug maker
reported second-quarter earnings ahead of analyst estimates.
Ford Motor Co.(F) added 1.9% after the car maker's
second-quarter revenue beat forecasts.
And after the market closes, Twitter Inc. (TWTR) is expected to
report second-quarter earnings of 4 cents a share, up from 2 cents
a share a year earlier.
Movers & shakers:General Motors Co.(GM) plans to work with a
Chinese auto maker on overhauling how it designs cars for
developing markets
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gm-to-invest-5-billion-in-emerging-market-cars-2015-07-28),
a $5 billion initiative. Shares rose 0.9% premarket.
Honeywell International Inc.(HON) shares may move ahead of the
bell, after news the industrial giant will buy German-based energy
and water business
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/honeywell-to-buy-elster-from-melrose-for-51-bln-2015-07-28)
Elster Group GmbH from Manufacturing group Melrose Industries PLC
(MRO.LN).
eBay Inc.(EBAY) slipped 0.8% in thin premarket trade, after the
e-commerce company said it's ending its eBay Now one-hour delivery
service
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ebay-ending-one-hour-delivery-program-in-us-2015-07-27),
in the U.S.
Shares of Baidu Inc.(BIDU) slumped 12% after the Chinese online
portal late Monday reported earnings that missed forecasts
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/baidu-profit-rises-but-forecast-misses-2015-07-27).
Other markets: European stock markets rose almost across the
board (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid),
recovering from the China-spurred selloff on Monday. Metal prices
were mixed, while crude oil prices slid further below $50 a barrel
(http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).
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