By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen opening mixed Tuesday, with the tech sector outperforming ahead of important news from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), while investors also wait for earnings from the key banking sector.
At 7:15 AM ET (1115 GMT), S&P 500 Futures traded 2 points, or 0.1%, lower, the Dow Futures contract fell 102 points, or 0.4%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 120 points, or 1%.
These cash indices are coming off a four-day win streak, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing at a new one-month high and the Nasdaq 100 posting its biggest advance since April.
Tech giants Apple and Amazon led stocks higher on Monday and they will be front and center again Tuesday, as the market awaits their most important events of the year: the unveiling of the next line of iPhones and the annual Prime Day marketing event.
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) start the third quarter earnings season in earnest, reporting before the opening bell. JPMorgan reported earnings 30% ahead of expectations, after slowing its credit loss provisions sharply from $8.9 billion in the second quarter to a little over $600 million in the three months through September. Strong trading results also more than offset lower lending income.
Earnings are also due from Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), with the latter of special significance given its announcement late Monday to pause trials for its potential Covid-19 vaccine after a participant in the study fell ill for unknown reasons.
This is another setback in the race for a Covid-19 vaccine, after AstraZeneca (NYSE:AZN) paused late-stage trials of its vaccine candidate last month, also due to unexplained illness in a trial participant.
Meanwhile, investors now consider a new coronavirus relief bill ahead of the November elections as unlikely, with Republicans and Democrats not expected to reach a consensus and pass the measures in that time period. Hopes for stimulus are now focused on January, as Democrat Joe Biden continues to widen his lead in the polls over President Donald Trump. A Biden victory is expected to result in a comprehensive stimulus package in the new year.
Turning to economic data, the main focus Tuesday will be the September consumer price index, at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT). Core CPI is expected to come in at up 0.2% from the prior month, a slowdown in growth from August’s up 0.4%. For the year-over-year comparison, core CPI is expected to tick up 1.4% compared with the 1.3% gain in August.
Oil prices pushed higher Tuesday, recovering after losses of just under 3% during the previous session, but excess output continues to plague the market along with ever-rising Covid-19 numbers hurting global demand.
A slow economic recovery from the pandemic threatens to delay a full rebound in world energy demand to 2025, the International Energy Agency said on Tuesday.
U.S. crude futures traded 2% higher at $40.20 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract rose 1.3% to $42.24.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,927.15/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% lower at 1.1795.