Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a mildly lower open on Tuesday, as investors continued to focus on the euro zone’s debt woes while awaiting earnings from tech giant Apple after Tuesday’s closing bell.
Market players were also looking forward to earnings from United Parcel Service and Dow component AT&T before the open Tuesday.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures signaled a drop of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 0.25%.
Earlier Tuesday, Spain successfully auctioned EUR3.02 billion of three and six-month government bonds but at higher yields than in the last auction.
Meanwhile, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds rose to a euro-era high of 7.59%, well above the 7% threshold considered unsustainable if a country is to remain solvent.
Markets also remained jittery after ratings agency Moody’s revised its outlooks on the sovereign ratings of Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative from stable after the U.S. market close Monday. Moody’s rates all three at AAA.
The ratings agency cited the possibility of Greece's exit from the euro zone and the impact that would have on Spain and Italy.
Data released earlier in the session showed that manufacturing activity in Germany slowed to the lowest level in more than three years in July, one day after rating’s agency Moody’s cut its outlook on Germany to negative from stable.
Separate reports showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone contracted at the fastest pace since May 2009 in July, while the French manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace in 38 months.
The weak euro zone data offset a report showing that China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers index improved to 49.5 in July, its highest level since February, from a final reading of 48.2 in June.
While the index remained below the 50 level which indicates contraction, the improvement from the previous month eased concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
In earnings news, shares in Texas Instruments, the world’s largest maker of analog chips, shed 0.2% after reporting second quarter profit that beat Wall Street expectations after markets closed Monday.
However, the tech bellwether warned third quarter sales and profit could come in below expectations due to slackening demand for electronics from Europe.
Shares in DuPont were down 0.45% after reporting second quarter profit fell 3.2%, as the chemicals giant's higher sales were offset by lower volume and currency headwinds.
Meanwhile, shares in Apple added 0.1% ahead of the release of the company’s highly-anticipated fiscal third quarter earnings report.
Analysts are calling for earnings of USD10.36 a share on revenue of USD37.23 billion.
UPS, AT&T and Lockheed Martin were also slated to release earnings before the opening bell, while Broadcom, Netflix and Juniper Networks release earnings after markets close.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were broadly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.1%, Germany's DAX eased down 0.15%, while Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.15%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.95%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 0.25%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was also to release preliminary data on manufacturing activity, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.
Market players were also looking forward to earnings from United Parcel Service and Dow component AT&T before the open Tuesday.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a loss of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures signaled a drop of 0.2%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a decline of 0.25%.
Earlier Tuesday, Spain successfully auctioned EUR3.02 billion of three and six-month government bonds but at higher yields than in the last auction.
Meanwhile, the yield on Spanish 10-year bonds rose to a euro-era high of 7.59%, well above the 7% threshold considered unsustainable if a country is to remain solvent.
Markets also remained jittery after ratings agency Moody’s revised its outlooks on the sovereign ratings of Germany, the Netherlands and Luxembourg to negative from stable after the U.S. market close Monday. Moody’s rates all three at AAA.
The ratings agency cited the possibility of Greece's exit from the euro zone and the impact that would have on Spain and Italy.
Data released earlier in the session showed that manufacturing activity in Germany slowed to the lowest level in more than three years in July, one day after rating’s agency Moody’s cut its outlook on Germany to negative from stable.
Separate reports showed that manufacturing activity in the euro zone contracted at the fastest pace since May 2009 in July, while the French manufacturing sector contracted at the fastest pace in 38 months.
The weak euro zone data offset a report showing that China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers index improved to 49.5 in July, its highest level since February, from a final reading of 48.2 in June.
While the index remained below the 50 level which indicates contraction, the improvement from the previous month eased concerns over a slowdown in the world’s second largest economy.
In earnings news, shares in Texas Instruments, the world’s largest maker of analog chips, shed 0.2% after reporting second quarter profit that beat Wall Street expectations after markets closed Monday.
However, the tech bellwether warned third quarter sales and profit could come in below expectations due to slackening demand for electronics from Europe.
Shares in DuPont were down 0.45% after reporting second quarter profit fell 3.2%, as the chemicals giant's higher sales were offset by lower volume and currency headwinds.
Meanwhile, shares in Apple added 0.1% ahead of the release of the company’s highly-anticipated fiscal third quarter earnings report.
Analysts are calling for earnings of USD10.36 a share on revenue of USD37.23 billion.
UPS, AT&T and Lockheed Martin were also slated to release earnings before the opening bell, while Broadcom, Netflix and Juniper Networks release earnings after markets close.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were broadly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 fell 0.45%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.1%, Germany's DAX eased down 0.15%, while Britain's FTSE 100 dipped 0.15%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.95%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 slumped 0.25%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was also to release preliminary data on manufacturing activity, while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was to speak.