Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Tuesday, as fresh uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve could begin tapering its stimulus program before the year end and ongoing U.S. debt worries dented investor confidence.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.02% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.18% increase.
U.S. stocks remained supported after after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended the central bank’s decision to keep its stimulus program unchanged last week, in comments on Monday.
Dudley said that adjustments to the Fed’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program "need to be anchored in an assessment of how the economy is actually performing”.
The Fed said last week that it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction to the scale of the bank’s bond buying program.
Separately, U.S. budget talks were to continue this week with the aim of passing a resolution to fund government beyond October 1.
Apple was expected to remain in the spotlight for the second consecutive session, after the tech giant announced on Monday that sales for its new iPhone had reached a record 9 million units within the first few days of its launch.
The company also said there were more than 200 million downloads of its new iOS 7 platform. The company's stock was up 0.37% in pre-market trade.
Also in the tech sector, BlackBerry climbed 0.91% in early tradingafter saying it will be acquired by Canadian insurance company Fairfax Financial in a deal totaling USD4.7 billion dollars.
Microsoft was also likely to remain in focus, after it introduced its next generation Surface tablet at an event in New York City on Monday.
Elsewhere, financial stocks were expected to be active, following a report by the Financial Times saying that a significant drop in Citigroup's trading revenue during the third quarter could hurt the bank's earnings.
Citigroup shares were up 0.02% in extended trading, while Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan both slipped 0.10%.
Other stocks likely to remain in focus included CarMax, Lennar and KBHome, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the trading session.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.51%, Germany's DAX added 0.16%, while Britain's FTSE 100 eased up 0.09%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.82%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index inched down 0.07%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on house price inflation, as well as a report on consumer confidence.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.05% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.02% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.18% increase.
U.S. stocks remained supported after after New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley defended the central bank’s decision to keep its stimulus program unchanged last week, in comments on Monday.
Dudley said that adjustments to the Fed’s USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program "need to be anchored in an assessment of how the economy is actually performing”.
The Fed said last week that it wanted to see more evidence of a sustained economic recovery before it adjusted the scale of its bond buying program. The decision surprised markets, which had been expecting a modest reduction to the scale of the bank’s bond buying program.
Separately, U.S. budget talks were to continue this week with the aim of passing a resolution to fund government beyond October 1.
Apple was expected to remain in the spotlight for the second consecutive session, after the tech giant announced on Monday that sales for its new iPhone had reached a record 9 million units within the first few days of its launch.
The company also said there were more than 200 million downloads of its new iOS 7 platform. The company's stock was up 0.37% in pre-market trade.
Also in the tech sector, BlackBerry climbed 0.91% in early tradingafter saying it will be acquired by Canadian insurance company Fairfax Financial in a deal totaling USD4.7 billion dollars.
Microsoft was also likely to remain in focus, after it introduced its next generation Surface tablet at an event in New York City on Monday.
Elsewhere, financial stocks were expected to be active, following a report by the Financial Times saying that a significant drop in Citigroup's trading revenue during the third quarter could hurt the bank's earnings.
Citigroup shares were up 0.02% in extended trading, while Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan both slipped 0.10%.
Other stocks likely to remain in focus included CarMax, Lennar and KBHome, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the trading session.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.51%, Germany's DAX added 0.16%, while Britain's FTSE 100 eased up 0.09%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.82%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index inched down 0.07%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on house price inflation, as well as a report on consumer confidence.