The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower open on Tuesday, with stocks likely to move to the downside after ending yesterday's choppy session little changed.
Overseas weakness may carry over onto Wall Street amid ongoing concerns about the outlook for the global economy following disappointing Chinese trade data.
Traders may also look to move money into safer havens ahead of the release of key inflation data in the coming days.
The reports on consumer and producer price inflation, which are due to be released on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates.
Ahead of the data, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 82.3 percent chance the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged at its next meeting in June.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell said following last week's rate hike that the central bank would take a "data-dependent approach" to future monetary policy decisions.
Nonetheless, a lack of major U.S. economic data may keep traders on the sidelines, leading to another lackluster session.
Following the significant rebound seen during last Friday's session, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually ended the session narrowly mixed. While the Dow edged down 55.69 points or 0.2 percent to 33,618.69, the S&P 500 crept up 1.87 points or 0.1 percent to 4,138.12 and the Nasdaq rose 21.50 points or 0.2 percent to 12,256.92.
The choppy trading on Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key inflation data later in the week.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department released a report showing U.S. wholesale inventories were unexpectedly unchanged in the month of March.
The report said wholesale inventories were virtually unchanged in March, while revised data showed inventories were also unchanged in February.
Economists had expected wholesale inventories to inch up by 0.1 percent, matching the uptick originally reported for the previous month.
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lackluster performance by the broader markets.
Telecom stocks showed a notable move to the downside, however, with the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index falling by 1.1 percent to its lowest closing level in over a month.
Weakness was also visible among tobacco stocks, as reflected by the 1.1 percent drop by the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are falling $0.74 to $72.42 a barrel after jumping $1.82 to $73.16 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after rising $8.40 to $2,033.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $3.80 to $2,037 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 13.15 yen compared to the 135.10 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0962 compared to yesterday's $1.1004.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Tuesday as Chinese trade data disappointed and investors awaited key U.S. inflation numbers due later in the week for clues on the Federal Reserve's next move on interest rates.
The U.S. reports on consumer and producer price inflation will be released on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively, while the Bank of England's interest-rate decision is scheduled for Thursday.
The dollar crept higher and Treasury yields remained elevated after a Federal Reserve survey showed credit conditions for U.S. business and households continued tightening in the first months of the year.
Gold prices held steady, while oil prices fell after rallying more than 2 percent on Monday on the back of better-than-expected U.S. jobs data and signs of supply disruptions in Canada.
China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped 1.1 percent to 3,357.67 as fresh data showed Chinese imports contracted sharply in April and exports grew at a slower pace, reinforcing signs of feeble domestic demand.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 2.1 percent to 19,867.58, weighed down by losses in the tech sector.
Japanese shares rallied as investors reacted to upbeat earnings news from top companies. The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.0 percent to 29,242.82, while the broader Topix closed 1.3 percent higher at 2,097.55.
Steelmaker JFE Holdings soared 14.5 percent after it forecast higher profits. Rivals Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel rose over 5 percent each.
Shipper Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha surged 9.3 percent after posting strong quarterly numbers and raising its dividend forecast.
Investors shrugged off government data showing Japanese household spending fell 1.9 percent in March from a year earlier.
Seoul stocks ended off their day's lows, with the Kospi closing 0.1 percent lower at 2,510.06 ahead of key U.S. inflation data and earnings results from major firms like Duke Energy and Walt Disney Co. due this week.
Tech and airline stocks fell, while Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shares jumped 4.5 percent.
Australian markets slipped into the red, with miners underperforming on disappointing retail sales data and ahead of the country's annual budget.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.2 percent to 7,264.10, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 0.2 percent at 7,456.70.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia ended slightly higher despite the country's biggest home lender warning of an inevitable increase in loan arrears.
Europe
European stocks are moving lower on Tuesday as Chinese trade data disappointed and traders braced for key U.S. inflation data due this week for fresh clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.
While the French CAC 40 Index has slumped by 1.0 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the German DAX Index are both down by 0.4 percent.
Swedish real estate firm SBB has moved sharply lower after halting dividend and suffering a rating cut.
Purplebricks has also plunged in London after the online real estate agency said it doesn't expect to return cash generation in early fiscal 2024 as expected earlier.
British insurer Direct Line has also slumped after warning an uptick in motoring claims will hit its earnings in 2023.
German auto giant Daimler Truck Holding has also fallen after confirming preliminary results and keeping its outlook unchanged.
On the other hand, Italian lender Banco BPM has jumped after raising its profit goal for this year and the next.
Sports fashion chain JD Sports has also climbed after it proposed buying France's Groupe Courir for an enterprise value of 520 million euros ($572 million).
Fresenius Medical Care has also risen. The dialysis specialist said it is seeing improving trends in the first quarter after operating profit declined less than feared.
Fresenius SE & Co. has also surged percent after confirming its full-year guidance.
In economic news, France's foreign trade deficit decreased at the end of the first quarter as imports fell faster than exports, data from the customs office showed earlier today.
The trade deficit dropped to 8.02 billion euros in March from 9.3 billion euros in February. In the corresponding month of 2022, the deficit totaled 13.6 billion euros.
Data out of the U.K. showed house prices in the country unexpectedly declined in April amid rising interest rates.
House prices decreased 0.3 percent on a monthly basis in April, in contrast to the 0.8 percent increase in March, Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax said, marking the first decrease in four months.
U.S. Economic Reports
New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is due to speak before a hybrid Signature Luncheon event by the Economic Club of New York at 12:05 pm ET.
At 1 pm ET, the Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month's auction of $40 billion worth of three-year notes.
Stocks In Focus
Shares of 3D Systems (DDD) are moving sharply lower in pre-market trading after the maker of 3D printers reported a wider than expected first quarter loss on revenues that missed analyst estimates.
Chipmaker Skyworks Solutions (SWKS) is also likely to come under pressure after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter results but providing disappointing guidance for the current quarter.
Meanwhile, shares of Palantir Technologies (PLTR) are seeing substantial pre-market strength after the company reported first quarter results that exceeded expectations and forecast a full-year profit.
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