Stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Tuesday, extending the lackluster performance seen in the previous session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by just 0.1 percent.
Traders may remain reluctant to make significant moves as they continue to look ahead to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision next Wednesday, with the central bank widely expected to pause its recent series of interest rate hikes.
Key inflation reports are also likely to be in the spotlight next week, as the data could impact whether the Fed resumes its rate hikes next month.
No major U.S. economic data is scheduled to be released today, although reports on the U.S. trade deficit and weekly jobless claims may attract some attention in the coming days.
Among individual stocks, shares of GitLab (GTLB) are soaring in pre-market trading after the software development platform company reported a narrower than expected fiscal first quarter loss on revenues that exceeded analyst estimates.
Recreational vehicle manufacturer Thor Industries (THO) is also likely to see initial strength after reporting fiscal third quarter results that beat expectations and raising its full-year earnings guidance.
On the other hand, shares of Mobileye (MBLY) may come under pressure on news an Intel (INTC) subsidiary plans to sell 35 million shares of the company's stock.
Crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) is also seeing significant pre-market weakness after the SEC charged the company with operating its crypto asset trading platform as an unregistered national securities exchange, broker, and clearing agency.
Following the rally seen to close out the previous week, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.
The major averages eventually finished the session in negative territory. The Nasdaq edged down 11.34 points or 0.1 percent to 13,229.43 and the S&P 500 dipped 8.58 points or 0.2 percent to 4,273.79, while the narrower Dow slid 199.90 points or 0.6 percent to 33,562.86.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index jumped by 0.9 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.2 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved modestly lower on the day. While the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 0.1 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slumping $1.49 to $70.66 a barrel after climbing $0.41 to $72.15 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after inching up $4.70 to $1,974.30 in the previous session, gold futures are rising $7.60 to $1,981.90 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 139.78 yen compared to the 139.58 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0672 compared to yesterday's $1.0713.
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