US Index Futures Mixed, Oil Prices Edge Higher

U.S. index futures show a mixed behavior, reflecting the volatility brought about by a recent rise in Treasury yields and the growing market anxiety that the Federal Reserve might adopt a more cautious stance on interest rate cuts than initially anticipated by Wall Street.

At 06:00 AM, Dow Jones futures (DOWI:DJI) fell 65 points, or 0.17%. S&P 500 futures were almost unchanged (+0.01%), and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 0.21%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury notes was at 4.164%.

In the commodities market, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for March delivery rose 0.16%, to $72.92 per barrel. Brent crude oil for April delivery rose 0.24%, to around $78.18 per barrel. Iron ore with a 62% concentration, traded on the Dalian exchange, fell 0.63%, to $132.10 per metric ton.

On today’s U.S. economic agenda, in addition to the API’s crude oil inventory report expected at 4:30 PM, further comments from American central bank members are anticipated, including statements from the President of the Cleveland Fed, Loretta Mester, and the President of the Boston Fed, Susan Collins.

Asian markets closed the day without a common direction, with a significant recovery in Chinese stocks, driven by government support measures, standing out. In contrast, indices from other regions declined, reflecting the recent drops on Wall Street. After six sessions of losses, driven by doubts about Chinese economic vigor, markets in China showed resilience. The Shanghai Composite index rose 3.23%, reaching 2,789.49 points, while the Shenzhen Composite jumped 5.14%, to 1,506.79 points, its largest gain since February 2019. Chinese regulatory authorities encouraged corporations to buy back shares and distribute dividends as a market valuation strategy.

European markets are trading higher, supported by the firmness of investor confidence, despite uncertainties about interest rate cuts.

On Monday, U.S. stocks experienced a significant drop after two sessions of gains. The Dow closed down 0.71%, the S&P 500 fell 0.32%, and the Nasdaq dropped 0.20%. The initial weakness was caused by profit-taking from the previous high and diminished optimism for a rate cut in March, as indicated by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. However, confidence increased due to solid economic data, and selling pressure eased throughout the day. Sectors like airlines and gold performed poorly, while pharmaceuticals and technology saw positive movements.

For Tuesday’s quarterly earnings front, financial reports are scheduled before the market opens from Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY), Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), Hertz (NASDAQ:HTZ), BP (NYSE:BP), Toyota Motor (NYSE:TM), Spirit Aerosystems (NYSE:SPR), CheckPoint (NASDAQ:CHKP), Ametek (NYSE:AME), Fiserv (NASDAQ:FISV), Cummins (NYSE:CMI), among others.

After the close, numbers are awaited from Ford Motor (NYSE:F), Snap Inc (NYSE:SNAP), Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH), Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN), VF Corp (NYSE:VFC), Gilead Sciences (NASDAQ:GILD), and more.