Early indications suggest that Wall Street stocks may open on a nervous note on Tuesday after stocks braved the weakness triggered by Greece yesterday. With Greek worries fading, the focus shifts to a slew of earnings reports from companies such as DuPont (DD), Pfizer (PFE), Caterpillar (CAT) and Procter & Gamble (PG). The markets may also show caution ahead of a 2-day FOMC meeting that gets underway later in the day, statement coming from the Eurogroup finance minister's meeting in Brussels and a few key domestic data on durable goods orders, new home sales and consumer confidence.
At 6:15 am ET, the Dow futures are slipping 67 points, the S&P 500 futures are moving down 7.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are receding 18 points.
U.S. stocks managed to end Monday's session higher despite trading on a lackluster manner for much of the session.
On the economic front, the two-day FOMC meeting gets underway, although the post-meeting policy statement is not expected until tomorrow.
The Commerce Department is due to release its durable goods orders report for December at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect a 0.7 percent month-over-month increase in durable goods orders for the month. Excluding transportation, orders may have climbed 0.8 percent.
At 9 am ET, S&P/Case-Shiller house price index for November is due for release. The house price index is expected to have risen a seasonally adjusted 0.6 percent month-over-month in November compared to a 0.8 percent increase in October. Annually, prices may have risen an unadjusted 4.3 percent, slower than the 4.5 percent increase in October.
Markit is scheduled to release the preliminary results of its service sector survey for January at 9:45 am ET. The service sector purchasing managers' index is expected to rise to 53.8 from 53.6 in December.
The Commerce Department will also release its new home sales report for December at 10 am ET. The consensus estimate calls for new home sales to come in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 452,000 following a 438,000-rate in November. Also at 10 am ET, the Conference Board is set to release the results of its consumer confidence survey for January. Economists expect the consumer confidence index to have risen to 96 from 92.6 in December.
In corporate news, among tech companies, Texas Instruments (TXN) reported fourth quarter profit that came in line, while its revenues exceeded estimates. The company's first quarter guidance was in line. Microsoft (MSFT) reported a decline in its second quarter profits, although its earnings and revenues were ahead of estimates.
Rambus (RMBS) reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings but revenues were slightly shy of estimates. The company's first quarter and full year revenue guidance was weak. Sanmina's (SANM) second quarter earnings were ahead of estimates, while its revenues trailed expectations. The company's guidance was lukewarm. United Technologies' (UTX) fourth quarter earnings matched estimates, while its revenues missed estimates. The company also lowered its 2015 outlook.
Amgen (AMGN), Apple (AAPL), AT&T (T), Boston Properties (BXP), Electronic Arts (ERTS), Illumina (ILMN), Juniper Networks (JNPR), Stryker (SYK), U.S. Steel (X), VMWare (VMW), Western Digital (WDC) and Yahoo! (YHOO) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading.
Most Asian markets advanced, although the Hong Kong and Chinese markets bucked the uptrend. Assurance from the Eurogroup that it aims to keep Greek in the eurozone seem to have allayed worries for the time being.
The waning risk aversion dragged the yen lower, which turned positive for the Japanese markets. The Nikkei 225 average ended up 299.78 points or 1.72 percent at 17,768. The Australian market, which opened after Monday's public holiday, rallied strongly, with the All Ordinaries started closing 43.30 points or 0.79 percent higher at 5,512.
Meanwhile, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 30.22 points or 0.89 percent before closing at 3,353 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended at 24,807, down 102.62 points or 0.41 percent.
On the economic front, the results of a survey by the National Australia Bank showed that business conditions in Australia eased slightly, with the corresponding index slipping to a 4 in December from 5 in November. At the same time, the business confidence index rose 1 point to 2. The Chinese National Bureau of Statistics reported that industrial profits in China fell by 8 percent year-over-year in December following a 4.2 percent drop in November.
European stocks opened lower and saw further downside in early trading, as profit taking after eight straight sessions of gains is taking a toll on the markets. The weakness comes despite the Eurogroup Chairman and Netherlands' finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem brushed off questions regarding a Greek exit as irrelevant. The Chairman reiterated that the Eurogrouop remains committed to keep the eurozone together so also the leaders of the largest political parties in Greece. Weak domestic earnings are also impacting sentiment.
In corporate news, Philips reported a sharp drop in its fourth quarter profit and also warned that it may not hit its financial targets for 2016, citing operational bottlenecks at its healthcare business segment. Novartis (NVS) reported a decline in profits and slower than expected sales growth for its fourth quarter, although it forecasts faster sales and profit growth for 2015.
Telecommunication equipment maker Ericsson (ERIC) reported below consensus earnings for its fourth quarter, weighed down by weak growth at North America. Citing the economy and lower oil prices, Siemens (SI) reported a decline in its first quarter profits.
In economic news, the U.K. economy grew at a slower pace in the fourth quarter, preliminary estimates from the Office for National Statistics showed. GDP grew 0.5 percent sequentially, slower than the 0.7 percent expansion seen in the third quarter and a 0.6 percent rise forecast by economists.
Separately, data from British Bankers' Association revealed that the number of loans approved for house purchases fell to 35,667 in December from 36,657 in November. Economists expected the approvals to fall to 36,500.
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December 26, 2025 08:42 ET Third quarter economic growth data from some major economies including the U.S. were the main news in this holiday shortened week. GDP growth and industrial production data from the U.S. helped to boost morale, while the consumer confidence survey results were less upbeat. In Europe, the quarterly economic growth data from the U.K. drew attention, while the minutes of the Australian central bank’s latest policy session was in focus in Asia.