Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures steadied Tuesday ahead of key earnings from the important tech sector, which could dictate future sentiment on Wall Street.
At 06:40 ET (10:40 GMT), Dow Jones Futures rose 57 points, or 0.1%, while S&P 500 Futures rose 5 points, or 0.1%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 7 points, or 0.1%.
A large rotation back into technology stocks saw Wall Street rebound on Monday, although benchmark indexes still remained well below recent peaks.
The S&P 500 jumped 1.1%, its best session since early June, the NASDAQ Composite surged 1.6%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%.
Alphabet, Tesla set to report Q2 earnings
The focus Tuesday was now squarely on upcoming earnings prints from tech majors Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), due after the close on Tuesday.
Alphabet is set to offer more cues on how Wall Street’s internet giants are benefiting from artificial intelligence, as well as how much they are spending on developing the new technology.
Tesla’s earnings are set to show how the electric vehicle maker is navigating a sharp decrease in demand, while focus will also be on its promises of AI-driven autonomous driving and robotaxis.
Beyond the two tech giants, a slew of other Wall Street majors are set to report on Tuesday, including Visa (NYSE:V), Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO), Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN), Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT), General Electric (NYSE:GE) and United Parcel Service (NYSE:UPS).
The second quarter earnings season is widely expected to dictate Wall Street’s trajectory in the coming weeks.
Political uncertainties persist
Aside from corporate earnings, investors will also be keeping their eyes on the U.S. political outlook, with Vice President Kamala Harris looking likely to become the Democratic presidential nominee in the wake of President Joe Biden stating that he will not seek reelection.
Recent polls showed Republican nominee Donald Trump was polling ahead of Biden and Harris, although it was unclear whether Harris’ nomination will shift this trend.
Tuesday's economic data slate includes existing home sales for June, as well as the July Richmond manufacturing index.
The main economic data release this week, however, will arrive on Friday, with June's personal consumption expenditures index set to test market expectations that the Federal Reserve is all but certain to cut interest rates in September.
Crude awaits US inventories
Crude prices stabilized Tuesday, near their weakest levels since mid-June as expectations of a supply surplus and uncertainty over demand continued to chip away at sentiment.
By 06:40 ET, the U.S. crude futures (WTI) dropped 0.2% to $78.22 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 0.2% to $82.22 a barrel.
Concerns over sluggish demand in China, the world’s biggest oil importer, have weighed on the market, on top of expectations that the crude market will move into surplus next year.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) analysts warned in a note this week that the oil market will likely shift into a surplus by 2025, with waning seasonal demand and an expected increase in output across the globe set to drive the surplus.
The American Petroleum Institute, a trade group, is due to release its estimates for last week's oil inventories later in the session, with the official U.S. government data due on Wednesday.
U.S. oil inventories have seen consistent draws over the last few weeks as the summer driving season proceeds to drive demand in the world’s largest consumer.
(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)
This content was originally published on Investing.com
