U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a slightly higher start for Wall Street Tuesday as investors keep tabs on U.S.-China trade talks, with U.S. officials underlining progress in lower-level meetings.
What are major indexes doing?
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMZ19, +0.27% rose 73 points, or 0.2%, to 27,036, while S&P 500 futures ESZ19, +0.30% were up 8 points, or 0.3%, at 3,006. Nasdaq-100 futures NQZ19, +0.35% added 26 points, or 0.3%, to 7,877.50.
Stocks put in a mixed performance Monday, with the Dow DJIA, +0.06% rising 14.92 points, or 0.1%, to 26,949.99, while the S&P 500 SPX, -0.01% drifted lower by 0.29 point, or less than 0.1%, to 2,991.78. The Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.06% gave up 5.21 points, or 0.1%, to end at 8,112.46.
What’s driving the market?
Analysts said global equity markets appeared to be buoyed by modest optimism around U.S.-China talks after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin late Monday told Fox Business Network that U.S.-China trade talks would resume in two weeks in Washington and said that deputy-level negotiations between the two countries had made some progress.
Beijing granted new tariff waivers to its companies to buy soybeans and China bought about 600,000 tonnes Monday, following a similar purchase made earlier this month. China’s Vice Premier Liu is expected visit America in mid-October for talks.
But market participants are likely to take talk of progress with a grain of salt given past ups and downs in the long-running trade battle, which has seen Beijing and Washington engage in an escalating series of tariffs and countermeasures.
“The trade situation between the U.S. and China has calmed down compared with late August, but a certain level unease remains,” said David Madden, market analyst at CMC, in a note.
Meanwhile, the U.K.‘s top court ruled that Prime Minister Boris Johnson violated the law when he suspended Parliament this month, opening the way to further scrutiny of his Brexit plans. The British pound GBPUSD, +0.3218% spiked versus the dollar in the wake of the decision, while European equities remained higher.
See: Decision to suspend Parliament ruled unlawful — live market reaction
Meanwhile, Germany’s closely watched Ifo business climate index rose slightly to 94.6 in September from 94.3 in August. Economists had expected a 94.4 reading. The expectations component of the index, however, fell to its lowest level since June 2009. The data followed more weak economic data from Germany and the eurozone on Monday with growth almost grinding to a halt in the third quarter and Germany suffering its worst downturn in almost seven years a manufacturing slump deepens.
Fears over European economic growth were underlined Monday after purchasing managers index readings for the eurozone came in at multiyear lows.
What stocks are in focus?
Alphabet’s Google GOOG, +0.33% also won a European court fight over tougher “right to be forgotten” rules. Europe’s top court ruled that Google does not have to remove links to sensitive personal data worldwide, as demanded by French authorities.
Starbucks SBUX, +0.82% won an appeal against a European Union demand to pay up to $33 million in back taxes to the Netherlands.
Facebook FB, -1.64% announced the acquisition of start-up CTRL-labs for an undisclosed amount. CTRL-labs explores ways for people to communicate using brain signals.
Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. BB, -0.40% fell 9% in premarket trade after posting weaker-than-expected numbers for its fiscal second quarter.
CarMax Inc. KMX, +2.68% on Tuesday reported fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue that topped expectations, helped by strength in sales of used vehicles.
What’s on the economic calendar
The U.S. FHFA home-price index for July is set for release at 9 a.m. Eastern, while the September U.S. Conference Board’s consumer-confidence reading is due at 10 a.m. Eastern.
How are other markets trading ?
U.S. Treasury yields were mostly unchanged early Tuesday as investors gear up for another bond auction while weighing weak global economic data. The 10-year Treasury note yield TMUBMUSD10Y, -1.90% was down 0.7 basis points to 1.701%.
Gold for December delivery GCZ19, -0.22% on Comex was little changed around $1,528.70 an ounce while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.03%, a gauge of the dollar against other major currencies, was also steady at 98.15.
Oil futures pulled back Tuesday, under pressure as traders see signs that Saudi Arabia is making progress in restoring production following attacks on processing facilities as well as concerns over the global demand picture. West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery CLX19, -1.06%, the U.S. benchmark, was of 53 cents, or 0.9%, at $58.11 a barrel. November Brent BRNX19, -1.20% , the global benchmark saw heavier pressure, falling 85 cents, or 1.3%, to $62.88 a barrel.
In Asia overnight, the China CSI 300 000300, +0.27% was little changed around 3,901 while Japan’s NIK, +0.09% Nikkei 225 index was also steady at 22,098.
