The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to initial weakness on Tuesday, with stocks likely to see further downside after ending the previous session mostly lower.

Renewed concerns about the outlook for interest rates may weigh on Wall Street following a recent surge by U.S. treasury yields.

The yield on the benchmark ten-year note has jumped to its highest levels in almost three months amid worries about the U.S. fiscal deficit and comments from Federal Reserve officials hinting at gradual rate cuts.

After the Fed slashed interest rates by 50 basis points last month, CME Group’s FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 87.6 chance of just a 25 basis point rate cut next month.

A steep drop by shares of Verizon (NYSE:VZ) is also likely to weigh on the Dow, with the telecom giant tumbling by 3.0 percent in pre-market trading.

The slump by Verizon comes after the company reported third quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates but weaker than expected revenues.

Meanwhile, fellow Dow component 3M (NYSE:MMM) is likely to see initial strength after the industrial conglomerate reported third quarter earnings that exceeded expectations.

Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data likely to keep some traders on the sidelines.

Following recent strength on Wall Street, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday. While the Dow showed a notable pullback, the tech-heavy Nasdaq managed to end the day in positive territory.

The Dow slid 344.31 points or 0.8 percent to 42,931.60 and the S&P 500 dipped 10.69 points or 0.2 percent to 5,853.98, but the Nasdaq rose 50.45 points or 0.3 percent to 18,540.01.

The pullback by the Dow partly reflected significant declines by American Express (NYSE:AXP), Merck (NYSE:MRK) and Travelers (NYSE:TRV).

The blue chip index gave back ground after reaching a record closing high last Friday, as some traders cashed in on the recent strength.

Meanwhile, the Nasdaq fluctuated over the course of the session before eventually ending the day at its best closing level since setting a record closing high in July.

Overall trading activity was relatively subdued, as traders looked ahead to the release of a slew of corporate earnings news from big-name companies.

Reports on durable goods orders and new and existing home sales are also likely to attract attention in the coming days along with the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book.

The Conference Board released a report this morning showing its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators fell by more than expected in the month of September.

The report said the leading economic index slid by 0.5 percent in September after falling by a revised 0.3 percent in August.

Economists had expected the leading economic index to decrease by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.2 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

Housing stocks saw substantial weakness on the day, with the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index plunging by 3.0 percent after ending last Friday’s trading at a record closing high.

Considerable weakness was also visible among commercial real estate stocks, as reflected by the 2.0 percent slumped by the Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index.

Telecom, banking and pharmaceutical stocks also saw significant weakness, while airline stocks showed a strong move to the upside.