U.S. Stocks May Show A Lack Of Direction In Early Trading

Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by just 7 points.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves as they await additional news out of the banking sector as well as some key U.S. economic data later in the week.

Friday’s report on personal income and spending in the month of February is likely to be in focus, as it includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

With the Fed signaling last week that it expects just one more interest rate increase this year, traders will look to the data for clues about the timing of the final rate hike.

CME Group’s FedWatch Tool currently indicates a 56.0 percent chance the Fed will leave rates unchanged at its next meeting in early May and a 44.0 percent chance of a 25 basis point increase.

Not long after the start of trading, the Conference Board is due to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of March. The consumer confidence index is expected to dip to 101.0 in March from 102.9 in February.

After posting strong gains last week, the major U.S. stock indexes turned in a mixed performance during trading on Monday.

While the major averages all moved to the upside in early trading, the tech-heavy Nasdaq swung back and forth across the unchanged line before closing in negative territory.

The Nasdaq slid 55.12 points or 0.5 percent to 11,768.83, while the Dow climbed 194.55 points or 0.6 percent to 32,432.08 and the S&P 500 rose 6.54 points or 0.2 percent to 3,977.53.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.1 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has crept up by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.06 to $72.87 a barrel after soaring $3.55 to $72.81 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after plunging $30 to $1,953.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $10.80 to $1,964.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 130.62 yen compared to the 131.57 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0843 compared to yesterday’s $1.0798.

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