Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, although worries that the results of the parliamentary election in Italy could threaten the financial situation in the euro zone weighed on market sentiment.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.20% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.19% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.13% gain.
Italy’s center-left coalition, led by the Democratic Party's Pier Luigi Bersani, won the majority of votes in the lower house and was likely to receive the mandate to form a government.
However, projections indicated that no party would be able to form a majority in the upper house, leading to a deadlock.
Meanwhile, market participants were looking ahead to congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the trading day, after last week’s minutes of the central bank’s January meeting showed that some policymakers favored an early end to the Fed's monetary easing measures.
Financial stocks were expected to be active, as Goldman Sachs was set to begin its annual job cutting process this week, sending shares up 0.43% in after-hour trade.
In addition, JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon was reportedly preparing to lead his new team of managers in an annual day of presentations to Wall Street about the outlook for businesses operated by the U.S. lender.
Shares in JP Morgan were up 0.17% in late trading.
Tech stocks were also likely to be in focus, after Intel agreed to make chips on behalf of Altera, taking a step toward opening its manufacturing technology to customers on a larger scale. The news sent Intel shares up 0.99% after hours.
Elsewhere, Facebook was set to be in the spotlight on Tuesday, as the social media giant agreed to take harassing postings off tribute pages for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting after meeting with Connecticut’s attorney general about the sites.
Facebook shares dropped 0.40% in pre-market trade.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunging 2.63%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 2.23%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.84%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 1.36%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.32%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged 2.26%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence and official data on new home sales.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.20% increase, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.19% rise, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.13% gain.
Italy’s center-left coalition, led by the Democratic Party's Pier Luigi Bersani, won the majority of votes in the lower house and was likely to receive the mandate to form a government.
However, projections indicated that no party would be able to form a majority in the upper house, leading to a deadlock.
Meanwhile, market participants were looking ahead to congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later in the trading day, after last week’s minutes of the central bank’s January meeting showed that some policymakers favored an early end to the Fed's monetary easing measures.
Financial stocks were expected to be active, as Goldman Sachs was set to begin its annual job cutting process this week, sending shares up 0.43% in after-hour trade.
In addition, JPMorgan Chase chief executive Jamie Dimon was reportedly preparing to lead his new team of managers in an annual day of presentations to Wall Street about the outlook for businesses operated by the U.S. lender.
Shares in JP Morgan were up 0.17% in late trading.
Tech stocks were also likely to be in focus, after Intel agreed to make chips on behalf of Altera, taking a step toward opening its manufacturing technology to customers on a larger scale. The news sent Intel shares up 0.99% after hours.
Elsewhere, Facebook was set to be in the spotlight on Tuesday, as the social media giant agreed to take harassing postings off tribute pages for victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting after meeting with Connecticut’s attorney general about the sites.
Facebook shares dropped 0.40% in pre-market trade.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 plunging 2.63%, France’s CAC 40 plummeted 2.23%, Germany's DAX tumbled 1.84%, while Britain's FTSE 100 retreated 1.36%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.32%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index plunged 2.26%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release a report on consumer confidence and official data on new home sales.