Futures slip as investors fret over Trump's policies

[January 31, 2017]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Tuesday, the second straight day of decline, as investors focused on President Donald Trump's policies that could prove detrimental to the markets.

* Investors, who have pushed Wall Street to record highs on hopes of fiscal stimulus such as tax and regulatory reforms under the new administration, have been disappointed by Trump's focus on isolationist policies such as travel restrictions to the United States.

* Fueling the uncertainty, Trump fired top federal government lawyer Sally Yates on Monday after she refused to defend the travel curbs.

* The dollar edged down against a basket of six major currencies <.DXY> on Tuesday and was on track for a 1.9 percent fall this month, its worst start to the year since the financial crisis.

* The Federal Reserve will also be on investors' watch list as its policy-setting body begins a two-day meeting. The central bank is not expected to raise interest rates, after a move in December, but investors will focus on how policymakers view the economy under a Trump presidency.

* Corporate America's fourth-quarter performance will also be on the radar. Apple, the world's most valuable public company, is scheduled to report after markets close. Fellow Dow component Exxon Mobil is expected to report before the open.

* A reading from the Conference Board is likely to show that the consumer confidence index slipped slightly in January after hitting its highest in more than 15 years in December. The data is due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1500 GMT).

A screen shows the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the 20,000 mark following the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Under Armour dropped 21 percent premarket after quarterly sales missed estimates and the sportswear maker said its chief financial officer would leave. Bigger rival Nike Inc was down 2.6 percent.

* Mylan was up 3.5 percent at $37.60 after a U.S. court rejected Teva's claims of patent infringement on its multiple-sclerosis drug. Mylan is trying to market a generic version of the drug.

* Dow component Pfizer slipped 1.3 percent to $30.91 after the drugmaker reported a decline in fourth quarter revenue.

Futures snapshot at 6:56 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis  were down 30 points, or 0.15 percent, with 19,925 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were down 3 points, or 0.13 percent, with 115,843 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 8 points, or 0.16 percent, on volume of 19,878 contracts.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru)

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