U.S. stock futures were marginally lower Tuesday morning after a losing day for the major benchmarks.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures inched lower by 51 points, or 0.13%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 0.1% and 0.04%.
Wall Street is coming off a choppy day for the major benchmarks. The 30-stock Dow dropped 248 points, or 0.65%, in its sixth straight losing day. The blue-chip index erased most of its 2024 gains, a major reversal considering that just weeks ago it approached the key 40,000 level. The S&P 500 lost 1.2%, while the Nasdaq Composite tumbled 1.79%.
Those losses follow a rise in yields that had investors shrugging off strong earnings from Goldman Sachs, as well as hot retail sales data. The 10-year Treasury yield topped 4.6%, its highest level since November.
Elsewhere, investors were concerned of escalating tensions in the Middle East after Iran’s launch of missiles and drones at Israel on Saturday. The CBOE Volatility Index, commonly referred to as the fear gauge, closed at its highest level since October.
Still, some market observers urged investors to remain calm and stay the course, saying a resilient economy and strong labor market could continue to be supportive of equities.
“I think the reality for the markets is that we’re not going to see a sustained downturn in the U.S. equity market until we have an earnings problem, which we do not have right now, and the labor market cracks, which is not happening right now,” Lauren Goodwin, chief market strategist at New York Life Investments, told CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Monday. “And so, I anticipate that the jitters that we’re seeing are a result of, ‘Yes, valuations are high. There’s a lot of uncertainty.’ That’s been true for months.”
Big bank earnings are set to continue Tuesday, with the release of results from Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson and Morgan Stanley. Other key reports including from UnitedHealth and United Airlines are also due to come out.
Traders will also watch for the latest reading of housing starts and building permits on Tuesday to gain insight into the health of the housing sector. Industrial production data is also set for release before the open.
