© Reuters
By Peter Nurse
Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are seen opening in a subdued manner Tuesday, after the negative start to the week on uncertainty whether the Federal Reserve will slow the pace of its interest rate hikes.
At 07:00 ET (12:00 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was largely flat, S&P 500 Futures traded 3 points, or 0.1% higher, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 30 points, or 0.2%.
The major averages closed sharply lower Monday after the release of stronger than expected ISM non-manufacturing PMI data, following Friday’s healthy jobs report, raised the possibility that the Federal Reserve will need to keep aggressively hiking interest rates to have the intended goal of bringing down inflation.
The blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped almost 500 points, or 1.4%, while the broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.8%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite ended 1.9% lower.
The Fed meets next week for its last meeting of the year. Investors are still generally expecting a half-percentage point increase, a step back from the 75 basis point raises at its last four meetings, but concerns are growing that another substantial hike may be in order.
The economic data slate in the U.S. Tuesday is largely empty, with only October trade data and the latest Redbook.
Friday’s November PPI release will be of more importance, with the headline figure expected to rise 7.2% on a year-over-year basis, slowing slightly after an 8% increase the previous month.
In the corporate sector, quarterly earnings are expected from the likes of AutoZone (NYSE:AZO), Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL), and Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG) before the open, while Smith & Wesson (NASDAQ:SWBI) and Stitch Fix (NASDAQ:SFIX) are due after the close.
Additionally, Facebook parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on Monday threatened to remove news from its platform if the U.S. Congress passes a proposal aimed at making it easier for news organizations to negotiate collectively with companies like Alphabet’s Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Facebook.
Crude oil prices fell Tuesday, continuing the previous session’s sharp losses as a stronger dollar on the back of Monday’s strong services sector data weighed.
Additionally, Russia's January-November oil output rose 2.2% from a year earlier, the Interfax news agency said on Tuesday, citing Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, ahead of the EU import ban and Group of Seven's $60-a-barrel price cap on seaborne Russian oil coming into force.
The American Petroleum Institute releases its weekly estimate of U.S. crude inventories later in the session, while the Energy Information Administration publishes its short-term energy outlook.
By 07:00 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 1.4% lower at $75.89 a barrel, while the Brent contract fell 1.2% to $82.67.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,788.55/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher to 1.0512.
