Stocks are likely to come under pressure in early trading on Tuesday, as traders express continued concerns about the global economic outlook. The major index futures are currently pointing to a sharply lower open, with the Dow futures down by 97 points.
Amid a lack of major U.S. economic data, traders continue to focus on the latest developments from overseas, including yesterday's remarks from China indicating that it now expects slower than previously estimated economic growth in 2012.
Uncertainty about the outcome of the Greek debt swap with private sector investors is also contributing to the downward momentum on Wall Street.
The exchange offer is set to expire on March 8th, with private sector investors required to take a 53.5 percent haircut and receive new bonds guaranteed by the EFSF.
In related news, the International Institute of Finance reportedly warned that the cost of a disorderly Greek default could rise to 1 trillion euros.
Peter Boockvar, managing director at Miller Tabak, said, "General nervousness ahead of the Greek debt exchange March 8th deadline has markets lower in addition to the repercussions of China's decision to 'target' 7.5% GDP growth."
Among individual stocks, Nutrisystem (NTRI) may come under pressure in early trading after the weight-loss company reported a wider than expected fourth quarter loss and forecast 2012 earnings well below analyst estimates. Shares of Nutrisystem are down by 12.2 percent in pre-market trading.
Casey's General Stores (CASY) could also see early weakness after reporting third quarter earnings and revenues that rose year-over-year but came in below analyst estimates.
On the other hand, shares of Monster Worldwide (MWW) are moving higher in pre-market trading after the online job search company said it has hired financial advisors in connection with its review of strategic alternatives.
After ending last Friday's trading modestly lower, stocks saw some further downside during trading on Monday. Troubling economic news from overseas weighed on the markets, overshadowing another batch of better than expected U.S. economic data.
The major averages ended the session well off their worst levels of the day but still closed in the red. The Dow edged down 14.76 points or 0.1 percent to 12,962.81, the Nasdaq fell 25.71 points or 0.9 percent to 2,950.48 and the S&P 500 slid 5.30 points or 0.4 percent to 1,364.33.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region saw continued weakness on Tuesday amid concerns about growth in China. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index ended the day down by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled by 2.2 percent.
The major European markets have also shown notable moves to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 1.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 1.4 percent, and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 1.8 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $1.24 to $105.48 a barrel after edging up $0.02 to $106.72 a barrel on Monday. Gold futures are sliding $20.20 to $1,683.70 an ounce. In the previous session, the precious metal fell $5.90 to $1,703.90 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading 81.03 yen compared to the 81.55 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3131 compared to yesterday's $1.3217.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com