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Analysts expect recent soft U.S. data will nudge
the Fed toward a dovish stance on monetary policy. But investors
will scrutinize statements for hints about the timing of a rate
hike, which is expected at the end of the year.
Apple <AAPL.O> rose 2.4 percent to $135.87 in premarket trading
a day after the company beat Wall Street's revenue and profit
forecasts as it sold more iPhones in China.
Merck <MRK.N> shares rose 4.5 percent to $59.65 after the
company's diabetes drug, Januvia, achieved the main goal of a
long-awaited heart safety study. The company also reported
better than expected quarterly sales and earnings on Tuesday.
Fellow Dow component and drugmaker Pfizer advanced 1 percent to
$34.95 in premarket after reporting its quarterly results.
Data expected on Tuesday include U.S. single-family home prices
for February at 9:00 a.m. EDT and U.S. consumer confidence
numbers for April at 10 a.m. EDT.
Wall Street ended lower on Monday led by losses in biotech
shares after disappointing news from several health companies
led the Nasdaq Biotech index <.NBI> to post its biggest daily
percentage loss in over a month.
Whirlpool <WHR.N> fell 6.5 percent to $185 in light premarket
trading after it lowered its profit forecast and sales outlook
for 2015, blaming the dollar and Brazil's stagnating economy.
Futures snapshot at 7:17 a.m EDT:
S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were down 7.75 points, or 0.37 percent,
with 97,879 contracts changing hands.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were down 6.25 points, or 0.14
percent, in volume of 17,293 contracts.
Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were down 71 points, or 0.39 percent, with
17,512 contracts changing hands.
(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Savio D'Souza)
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