Removes new home sales from scheduled economic events for day
Wall Street continued to hold on to its cautious demeanor, as economic uncertainties intensify. Spain and Greece with their fundamental fiscal problems continue to worry traders, while growth has been slowing across the global economy. The latest to caution of a slowdown was the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who said in a speech yesterday that global growth will likely be a bit weaker than anticipated even in July. Traders now wait with bated breath for a key consumer confidence reading due after the markets open.
As of 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are adding 6 points, the S&P 500 futures are moving up 0.40 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are adding 2.50 points.
Amid a lack of major trading catalysts, U.S. stocks turned in a lackluster performance on Monday, ending modestly to moderately lower.
On the economic front, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its consumer confidence report for September at 10 am ET. The report is expected to show that the consumer confidence index decline to 64.8 in September.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, which tracks monthly changes in the value of residential real estate in 20 metropolitan regions across the U.S., is scheduled to be released at 9 am. Economists expect a 1.2 percent year-over-year increase in the 20-city composite house price index for July.
The Federal House Finance Agency, or FHFA, is set to release its house price index for July at 10 am ET. Economists expect a 0.8 percent increase in the house price index compared to a 0.7 percent increase in June.
The manufacturing index based on the Richmond's manufacturing index is due to released at 10 am ET. The index is expected to improve to -4 in September from -9 in August.
At its investor meeting, Caterpillar (CAT) updated its 2015 guidance, with the company now expecting earnings of $12 to $18 per share and sales of $80 billion to $100 billion. This represents a reduction from its earlier earnings guidance of $15-$20 per share.
Paychex (PAYX) reported first quarter earnings of 42 cents per share, up 2 percent year-over-year, and revenues of $578.2 million, up 3 percent. The earnings were in line, while the revenues were shy of estimates. The company reaffirmed its guidance of total service revenue growth of 5-6 percent and net income growth of 5-7 percent.
Red Hat (RHT) reported second quarter non-GAAP net income of 28 cents per share compared to 29 cents per share last year. Revenues rose 15 percent to $322.6 million. The results trailed estimates.
Copart (CPRT) and Jabil Circuit (JBL) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the markets close.
The major Asian markets ended on a mixed note, as growth concerns continued to haunt investors due to the situation in Europe.
Japan's Nikkei 225 average closed up 22.25 points or 0.25 percent at 9,092. Financial, real estate, auto and paper stocks were among the advancers, while technology and other export stocks mixed sentiment.
Australia's All Ordinaries languished below the unchanged line throughout the session before closing down 13.70 points or 0.31 percent at 4,396. Most sectors retreated, led by material and consumer staple stocks.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed at 20,704, down 8.79 points or 0.04 percent. At the same time, China's Shanghai's Composite Index, South Korea's Kospi and Taiwan's Weighted Average all closed lower.
On the economic front, a Bank of Japan report showed that its corporate service price index edged down 0.3 percent year-over-year in August. The drop was in line with expectations.
European stocks are currently trading lower ahead of a slew of key economic data from the U.S.
The results of the German consumer confidence survey by the GfK showed that Germany's consumer confidence is set to remain unchanged in October. The forward-looking consumer sentiment index is expected to come in at 5.9 in October, in line with expectations.
Meanwhile, French business confidence also remained unchanged in September, according to the results of a survey by statistical office INSEE. The headline synthetic indicator measuring business confidence was unchanged at 90 in September, while economists had expected a 1-point decline to 89.
by RTT Staff Writer
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