Investing.com - U.S. stock futures were lower on Tuesday, as investors eyed developments in the euro zone after weekend elections in Greece and France reignited fears over the handling of the debt crisis in the euro zone.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.53%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.57% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated 0.66% loss.
Markets were watching developments in Greece as political leaders continued to hold cross party talks after the country’ largest party, New Democracy, was unable to reach an agreement to form a government on Monday.
The uncertainty fuelled fears that Greece will not have a government in place in time to secure its next tranche of international aid next month, as new elections look increasingly likely.
Investors were also jittery amid concerns over new French president-elect, Socialist Francois Hollande who has said he wants to renegotiate the euro zone’s fiscal pact in order to stimulate growth in the region.
Financial stocks were expected to be active after First BanCorp posted a narrower quarterly loss on a lower provision for loan and lease losses, and the private equity bank said it will buy a credit-card portfolio to re-enter the credit card business. Shares were up 0.06% in after hour trade.
Meanwhile, HSBC beat expectations with an underlying profit of almost USD7 billion in the first quarter thanks to a rebound in investment banking income and a fall in U.S. bad debts.
The bank said earlier that it had made good progress on all areas of strategy, including cost savings, and had shed 14,000 jobs since last year as part of chief executive Stuart Gulliver's plan to boost profitability.
Yahoo was also likely to be in focus as the company’s board convened on Monday afternoon to discuss the mounting upset surrounding Chief Executive Scott Thompson, who has apologized to employees after being accused last week by activist investor Daniel Loeb of padding his resume.
Also in corporate news, General Electric added 0.10% in late trading on Monday after saying it is buying a 15% stake in Shanghai-listed China XD Electric Group for about USD535 million, giving the U.S. conglomerate a foothold in China's vast electrical infrastructure market and access to XD's technology.
Elsewhere, Wynn Resorts posted lower-than-expected quarterly results after robust growth in Macau failed to make up for flagging Las Vegas revenue, underlining the incentive for CEO Steve Wynn to develop his business further in the bustling Chinese enclave. Shares tumbled 1.53% in after hour trade.
Markets were also focused on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as he took questions about the No. 1 social network's slowing revenue growth and its USD1 billion Instagram purchase, kicking off a roadshow on Monday to promote its USD10 billion initial public offering.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.16%, Germany's DAX dropped 1.05%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.32%. Markets in France remained closed due to a national holiday.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased down 0.1%, while markets in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.7%.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a fall of 0.53%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.57% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated 0.66% loss.
Markets were watching developments in Greece as political leaders continued to hold cross party talks after the country’ largest party, New Democracy, was unable to reach an agreement to form a government on Monday.
The uncertainty fuelled fears that Greece will not have a government in place in time to secure its next tranche of international aid next month, as new elections look increasingly likely.
Investors were also jittery amid concerns over new French president-elect, Socialist Francois Hollande who has said he wants to renegotiate the euro zone’s fiscal pact in order to stimulate growth in the region.
Financial stocks were expected to be active after First BanCorp posted a narrower quarterly loss on a lower provision for loan and lease losses, and the private equity bank said it will buy a credit-card portfolio to re-enter the credit card business. Shares were up 0.06% in after hour trade.
Meanwhile, HSBC beat expectations with an underlying profit of almost USD7 billion in the first quarter thanks to a rebound in investment banking income and a fall in U.S. bad debts.
The bank said earlier that it had made good progress on all areas of strategy, including cost savings, and had shed 14,000 jobs since last year as part of chief executive Stuart Gulliver's plan to boost profitability.
Yahoo was also likely to be in focus as the company’s board convened on Monday afternoon to discuss the mounting upset surrounding Chief Executive Scott Thompson, who has apologized to employees after being accused last week by activist investor Daniel Loeb of padding his resume.
Also in corporate news, General Electric added 0.10% in late trading on Monday after saying it is buying a 15% stake in Shanghai-listed China XD Electric Group for about USD535 million, giving the U.S. conglomerate a foothold in China's vast electrical infrastructure market and access to XD's technology.
Elsewhere, Wynn Resorts posted lower-than-expected quarterly results after robust growth in Macau failed to make up for flagging Las Vegas revenue, underlining the incentive for CEO Steve Wynn to develop his business further in the bustling Chinese enclave. Shares tumbled 1.53% in after hour trade.
Markets were also focused on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, as he took questions about the No. 1 social network's slowing revenue growth and its USD1 billion Instagram purchase, kicking off a roadshow on Monday to promote its USD10 billion initial public offering.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply lower. The EURO STOXX 50 tumbled 1.16%, Germany's DAX dropped 1.05%, while Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.32%. Markets in France remained closed due to a national holiday.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index eased down 0.1%, while markets in Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.7%.