WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing
to a higher open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to move to the upside following
the mixed performance seen in the previous session.

Stocks may benefit from optimism about the outlook for interest rates ahead of
several key economic events this week.

However, early trading is likely to be impacted by reaction to remarks by
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who is due to deliver his semi-annual
monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee this morning.

Powell is also scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services
Committee on Wednesday, with his remarks potentially having a significant impact
on the outlook for rates.

Later in the week, the Labor Department is scheduled to release reports on
consumer and producer price inflation, which could have an even more profound
impact on interest rate expectations.

If the report on consumer prices shows an expected slowdown in the annual rate
of price growth, it could bolster optimism about a rate cut in September.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Monday, turning a bit sluggish after a fairly good
start. Among the major averages, the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 moved on to new
record highs, while the Dow ended in negative territory.

The Dow edged down 31.08 points or 0.1 percent to 39,344.79. The S&P 500 ended
higher by 5.66 points or 0.1 percent to 5,572.85, while the Nasdaq rose 50.98
points or 0.3 percent to 18,403.74.

Optimism about the outlook for interest rates aided stocks earlier in the
session. However, the mood turned a bit cautious as the day progressed, with
investors looking ahead to the data on consumer and producer prices and Powell's
congressional testimony this week.

On the economic front, a leading indicator for payroll employment in the U.S.
decreased in June, extending the declining trend over the past several months,
and a signaled a slowdown in payroll hiring in the second half of the year,
survey data from the Conference Board showed.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index fell to 110.27 in June from a
downwardly revised 111.04 in May.

Networking stocks found good support. Shares of semiconductor and hardware
companies also moved higher, contributing significantly to the gain by the
Nasdaq.

Nvidia gained nearly 2 percent. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. shares rallied 4
percent. Intel surged more than 6 percent, and Dell Technologies climbed 5
percent.

Broadcom Inc., Home Depot, Qualcomm, Applied Materials, Texas Instruments, GE
Aerospace, Morgan Stanley, IBM, Booking Holdings Inc., Citigroup, Vertex
Pharmaceuticals, Lowe's and Analog Devices also closed notably higher.

Meanwhile, Nike, Comcast Corporation, Abott Laboratories, McDonald's
Corporation, Cisco Systems, Wells Fargo, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, Visa and Meta
Platforms ended weak.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are slipping $0.43 to $81.90 a barrel after sliding $0.83 to
$82.33 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after plunging $34.20 to $2363.50 an ounce
in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $3.90 to $2,367.40 an
ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 161.08 yen compared to the
160.83 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the
euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0813 compared to yesterday's $1.0824.

Asia

Asian stocks rose broadly on Tuesday after Wall Street equities inched higher to
close at record peaks overnight ahead of the Federal Reserve Chair's testimony
and key U.S. consumer and producer price inflation figures due this week.

Investors expect the upcoming U.S. earnings season to be a good one, with top
banks JPMorgan, Citigroup and Wells Fargo due to report their quarterly results
on Friday.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell addresses Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday, with
investors seeking more clues on the likely direction of rates ahead of a policy
meeting later this month.

The U.S. CPI report is due on Thursday and is expected to show inflation easing
to 3.1 percent in June from 3.3 percent in May. The producer price inflation
report is due Friday.

The U.S. dollar remained near a multi-week low against key peers in Asian
trading and gold traded marginally higher above $2,360 per ounce, while oil
extended losses amid continued hopes for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.

Chinese markets posted strong gains, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index
jumping 1.3 percent to 2,959.37 ahead of one of the country's biggest annual
policy meetings.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index finished marginally lower at 17,523.23, reversing
early losses before the release of Chinese inflation data.

Japanese markets led regional gains, with chip-related shares leading the surge.
The Nikkei 225 Index shot up 2.0 percent to hit a record high of 41,580.17 as
the yen declined ahead of Powell's testimony.

The broader Topix Index settled 1.0 percent higher at 2,895.55. Advantest, Tokyo
Electron, Screen Holdings and SoftBank Corp. surged 2-3 percent.

Seoul stocks eked out modest gains as tech shares followed their U.S peers
higher. The Kospi rose 0.3 percent to 2,867.38.

SK Hynix advanced 2.1 percent, while automaker Hyundai Motor tumbled 3 percent
and Kia Corp. dropped 1.4 percent.

Australian stocks ended notably higher in a broad-based rally. The benchmark
S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 0.9 percent to 7,829.70, while the broader All
Ordinaries Index climbed 0.8 percent to 8,075.20.

Banks outperformed, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia rising 1.8 percent to a
record high. Buy now-pay later firm Zip gained 4.3 percent and telecom firm
Telstra advanced 2.2 percent.

Across the Tasman, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 Index jumped 0.9 percent
to 11,848.13, marking a three-week high ahead of the RBNZ policy meeting on
Wednesday.

Europe

European stocks have declined on Tuesday, as investors react to a slew of
disappointing corporate updates and look ahead to a crucial testimony from
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell before a congressional panel for additional
clues on the interest rate trajectory.

While the French CAC 40 Index has slumped by 0.9 percent, the German DAX Index
is down by 0.5 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.3 percent.

In corporate news, Saint-Gobain has moved to the downside in Paris after
announcing it has completed the acquisition of CSR.

Software company Dassault Systemes has also moved sharply lower on the day after
cutting its 2024 earnings target.

PageGroup shares have also slumped in London after the recruiter warned that
earnings this year will probably drop about 50 percent.

BP has also declined. The energy giant has warned of 'significantly lower'
refining margins and flagged impairment of $1 billion to $2 billion on the value
of a plant in Germany.

Drug maker Indivior has also plunged to about three-year lows after a profit
warning.

U.S. Economic News

Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr is scheduled to speak
before the Financial Inclusion Practices and Innovations Conference hosted by
the Federal Reserve Board at 9:15 am ET.

At 10 am ET, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is due to deliver his
semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month's
auction of $58 billion worth of three-year notes at 1 pm ET.

At 1:30 pm ET, Federal Reserve Board Governor Michelle Bowman is due to speak
before the Financial Inclusion Practices and Innovations Conference.



Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved

Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX