With traders driving down stocks for five straight sessions, Wall Street may seek the support of bargain hunters to stem the losses and bounce higher. The major U.S. index futures point to a higher opening on Tuesday. Commodities are mostly weaker and the dollar is grinding higher, except against commodity currencies. The European markets are seeing some upside, although the underlying mood is lackluster amid the Greece bailout negotiations and mixed earnings.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks closed mostly lower earlier in the global trading day. The domestic markets may also choose to exercise restraint in the wake of Wednesday's FOMC announcement. A consumer confidence data due for the day could also impact the mood of the markets.
At 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are rising 88 points, the S&P 500 futures are adding 12 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 22.75 points.
U.S. stocks succumbed to weakness generated by the global equity market rout on Monday, extending their losses for the fifth straight session.
On the economic front, the 2-day FOMC meeting kickstarts today, although the monetary policy announcement is not due until tomorrow.
S&P/Case-Shiller is due to release its house price index for May at 9 am ET. Economists expect house prices to have increased a seasonally adjusted 0.3 percent month-over-month, the same rate of growth as in the previous month. Annually, the house price growth is expected to quicken to 5.6 percent from 4.9 percent.
Markit is set release the flash estimate of its U.S. service sector PMI reading at 9:45 am ET. The consensus estimate calls for the index to remain flat at 54.8.
At 10 am ET, the Conference Board is scheduled to release the results of its U.S. consumer confidence survey. Economists expect the index to slip to 99.6 in July from 101.4 in June.
In corporate news, Baidu.com (BIDU) reported second quarter adjusted earnings that trailed estimates and issued weak guidance for the third quarter. Hartford Financial (HIG) reported better than expected second quarter core earnings, while its revenues were slightly shy of estimates.
Rent-A-Center (RCII) said its second quarter earnings and revenues trumped estimates. The company issued full year earnings per share guidance, which is in line. Waste Connections (WCN) reported in line second quarter earnings and better than expected revenues. The company's 2015 revenue guidance was in line.
Honeywell (HON) announced an agreement to buy the Elster Division of thermal gas solutions provider Melrose Industries for $5.1 billion. Honeywell said the dilutory impact of the deal on its 2016 earnings per share is minor and that there is no change to its 2015 full year guidance.
Akamai Technologies (AKAM), Anadarko Petroleum (APC), Arthur J. Gallagher (AJG), Big 5 Sports (BGFV), C.H. Robinson (CHRW), Citrix Systems (CTXS), Edward Lifesciences (EW), Express Scripts (ESRX), Gilead Sciences (GILD), InterActive Corp. (IACI), Panera Bread (PNRA), Kimco Realty (KIM), RenaissanceRe (RNR), Stanley Furniture (STLY), Twitter (TWTR), U.S. Steel (X) and Yelp (YELP) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading.
Most Asian markets retreated, as the volatility in the Chinese market and the imminent FOMC announcement rendered the mood nervous. The Indonesian, Chinese and Singaporean markets retreated sharply, while the Hong Kong market advanced notably. The South Korean market ended little changed with a positive bias and the Taiwanese market rose modestly.
The Japanese market ended slightly lower but well off the highs of the session. The Nikkei 225 average ended down 21.21 points or 0.10 percent at 20,329, declining for the third straight session. Australia's All Ordinaries, which was sharply lower in the morning, ended 8.20 points or 0.15 percent lower at 5,571.
China's Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,663, down 62.56 points or 1.68 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 151.98 points or 0.62 percent before ending at 24,504.
European stocks are rebounding from their recent declines, with the focus now shifting to some domestic earnings and the ongoing negotiations between Greece and its creditors, with the former seeking to have a bailout deal by August 20th, when a 3.2 billion euro repayment becomes due to the European Central Bank.
In corporate news, BP (BP) reported a loss for its second quarter, hurt by lower prices and litigation settlement charges. However, Statoil reported better than expected second quarter despite lower oil prices. French telecom company Orange reported better than expected second quarter revenues, while the EBITDA was soft. The company maintained its full year earnings and dividend targets.
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