US Stock Futures Little Changed as Oil Prices Level Off
New York (Jan 10) Stock futures were little changed on Tuesday as investors awaited news from a press conference Wednesday with President-elect Donald Trump, his first since winning the U.S. presidential election.
S&P 500 futures were up 0.02%, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were flat, and Nasdaq futures added 0.04%.
Trump could provide details Wednesday on his policy positions, including infrastructure spending plans and policies intended to boost job growth.
The Dow has struggled to breach 20,000 in recent days after coming close to the milestone on Friday. The Dow has rocketed higher since the November presidential election as investors grew more confident in Trump's infrastructure spending plans.
"Expectations continue to run high that regulations will be rolled back, allowing corporate earnings to improve and support the higher markets," said Paul Nolte, senior vice president of Kingsview Asset Management. "Of course, the new administration could usher in trade wars with a variety of trading partners, boost inflation by profligate spending that would also push interest rates higher."
Crude oil prices levelled off on Tuesday after slumping to a three-week low a day earlier. Commodities slumped after Friday's weekly reading on U.S. drilling activity showed an increase for the tenth consecutive week in a row. Trading has been erratic since the beginning of the year when a production freeze agreement among Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries went into effect.
West Texas Intermediate crude was up 0.2% to $52.07 a barrel on Tuesday morning.
Investors were also in wait-and-see mode ahead of the kickoff to the fourth-quarter earnings season later in the week. Average earnings for the S&P 500 in the fourth quarter are expected to increase 4.4% from the same period a year earlier. Earnings growth would mark the second straight quarter of gains after the third quarter broke an earnings recession that lasted for four consecutive quarters.
Source: TheStreet
