Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor.
The market mood appears to be fidgety early on Tuesday as traders eye the week’s twin inflation reports and other market-moving economic events. The producer price inflation report due ahead of the market opening could give a decisive direction when stocks open for trading. Traders may also look forward to rate commentary from the speeches by a couple of Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Jerome Powell.
Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) kicked off the retail reporting season on a lackluster note, with revenue coming in shy of estimates, while earnings per share were in line. The company also suggested continued softness in larger consumer discretionary projects.
| Futures | Performance (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | +0.07% |
| S&P 500 | +0.02% |
| Dow | +0.03% |
| R2K | +0.15% |
In premarket trading on Tuesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) ticked up 0.02% to $521.04, while the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) edged up 0.03% to $443.20 according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From The Last Session
U.S. stocks ended Monday’s session on a mixed note as wary traders bid their time ahead of the inflation data. The fall in bond yields helped to mitigate some of the weakness. Frenzied buying in meme stocks, led by GameStop Corp. (NYSE:GME), provided some excitement though. The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 Index traded in the green in the morning session before pulling back in the afternoon and ending lower, with the former snapping an eight-session winning streak.
The Nasdaq Composite remained in the green for the bulk of the session before ending modestly higher.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | +0.29% | 16,340.87 |
| S&P 500 Index | -0.02% | 5,221.42 |
| Dow Industrials | -0.21% | 39,431.51 |
| Russell 2000 | +0.11% | 2,062.12 |
Insights From Analysts:
Notwithstanding the sideways movement seen in recent sessions following the recovery in May, a fund manager is positive about the market. “Momentum remains to the upside but has slowed as the indexes have fully recovered from the April pullback and re-approach the highs,” said fund manager Louis Navellier.
Upcoming Economic Data:
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the producer price inflation report for April at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The producer price inflation is expected to come in at a monthly rate of 0.3% in April, up from 0.2% in March. The core reading’s monthly rate is expected to remain unchanged at 0.2%. On a year-over-year basis, the headline and core numbers may have increased by 2.2% and 2.4%, respectively. This compares to the month-ago rates of 2.1% and 2.8%, respectively.
- Fed Gov Lisa Cook is scheduled to speak at 9:10 a.m. EDT.
- Fed Chair Powell will make a public appearance at 10 a.m. EDT.
- The Treasury will auction 52-week bills at 11:30 a.m. EDT.
Stocks In Focus:
- Meme stocks moved to the upside yet again, with GameStop surging over 47% in premarket trading. AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AMC) jumped over 51%.
- Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE:BABA), Home Depot, Sea Limited (NYSE:SE) and Jack in the Box Inc. (NASDAQ:JACK) are among the key companies reporting ahead of the market opening.
- Notable among the companies reporting after the close are Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF) and Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BOOT).
Crude oil futures were seen extending their gains, closing in on the $80-a-barrel psychological barrier, and gold futures rose modestly. Ten-year bond yield slipped yet again and Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) traded under $62K.
Asian stocks closed on a mixed note, while the major European averages were lower in early trading as the spotlight shifted to U.S. inflation data.
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