Investing.com - Wall Street futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday on a calendar light day, with investors looking ahead to appearances from the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the latest forecasts on the global economy from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The blue-chip Dow futures edged forward 15 points, or 0.08%, by 7:02AM ET (11:02GMT), the S&P 500 futures inched up 1 point, or 0.06%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures gained 6 points, or 0.13%.
Markets looked set to recover some of Monday’s losses in a session with no major economic data stateside.
The dollar continued to climb positions against major rivals, hitting a two-week high on Tuesday, on the back of better-than-expected manufacturing data a day earlier and comments from Cleveland Fed president Loretta Mester that suggested there was a risk the Fed would need to tighten faster if they want to target 2% inflation.
New York Fed chief William Dudley also spoke Monday warning that, in the event of a recession in the next few years, it was unlikely that the central bank could respond with the same magnitude of rate cuts.
On Tuesday investors awaited fresh central bank comments from Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker who was scheduled to give a speech on the economic outlook at 8:05AM ET (14:05GMT), while Chicago Fed head Charles Evans was also set to deliver remarks after the market close at 8:00PM ET (2:00GMT Wednesday).
Markets are currently pricing in a rate hike in December with odds at 61.7%, according to Investing.com’s Fed Rate Monitor Tool.
In the absence of major U.S. data, the IMF was scheduled to deliver its latest update to the World Economic Outlook (WEO) at 9:00AM ET (15:00GMT).
In its last forecast, the IMF was focused on the danger of the U.K.’s decision to leave the European Union (EU), known as a Brexit, and had warned of the possibility of a recession in the British economy.
The Fund did cut its forecast for U.S. growth this year to 2.2%, from the prior 2.4%, but explained that the revision was due to a weaker than expected performance in the first three months of the year.
With the Brexit in mind, the pound grabbed headlines on Tuesday, hitting a 31-year low against the dollar as British Prime Minister Theresa May insisted on the necessity to set out a timetable for the U.K. to trigger Article 50 and proceed with negotiations to leave the European Union (EU).
“"I want to give people more certainty so we will see a much smoother process as we enter those negotiations," she told viewers in an ITV interview.
The interview came after May promised on Sunday that Article 50 would be triggered by the end of March 2017.
Europe was also in the spotlight with investors awaiting news of a possible deal between Deutsche Bank AG NA O.N. (DE:DBKGn) and the Department of Justice (DoJ)
Reports within the last week suggested the DoJ $14 billion fine on Germany’s largest lender would be sharply reduced and talks were said to be ongoing.
Shares of Deutsche Bank moved slightly higher in its first day of trade after the German holiday after JP Morgan chief executive Jamie Dimon gave the financial institution a vote of confidence.
"There is no reason that Deutsche Bank shouldn't get over its problems," the head of the largest U.S. bank by assets said in an interview with CNBC.
In U.S. company news, Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) and Micron Technology Inc (NASDAQ:MU) were set to report quarterly earnings.
Meanwhile, oil prices were under pressure from a stronger dollar along with reports of production increases by both Libya and Iran that caused further skepticism over the possibility of OPEC eventually reaching a deal to curb output at its November 30 meeting.
U.S. crude futures fell 0.78% to $48.43 by 7:01AM ET (11:01AM GMT), while Brent oil lost 0.61% to $50.58.