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 Markets see no chance of a U.S. interest rate increase at the
meeting that is set to begin on Tuesday but have priced in a
one-in-five chance of a hike at the meeting on June 14-15. Fed
officials have repeatedly said a hike in June is on the cards.
While job growth has continues to gain strength, inflation
stubbornly remains below the Fed's 2 percent target.
Investors are also keeping a close eye on earnings reports from
major players such as Apple , AT&T, Ebay.
First-quarter earnings from S&P 500 components are expected to have
fallen 7.3 percent from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters
I/B/E/S. Of the 135 companies that have reported, 59 percent
reported revenue above analyst expectations, just short of the
average 60 percent since 2002.
"People are focused on earnings to see if things will pick up in the
coming quarters," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James
in St. Petersburg, Florida.
"Right now we're in no man's land. The data has been mixed with job
growth picking up but there are concerns regarding the downside
risks."
With the S&P 500 up in eight of the past 10 weeks and nearing the
record high set almost a year ago, traders are struggling to find
reasons to push it even higher as underwhelming earnings and the
specter of higher interest rates hover over markets.
S&P 500 e-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.16 percent, with 171,857
contracts traded at 8:35 a.m. ET. Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 3.25
points, or 0.07 percent, on volume of 22,802 contracts. Dow e-minis
were up 30 points, or 0.17 percent, with 22,452 contracts changing
hands.
Oil prices were up about 1 percent due to a weaker dollar and hopes
for an easing of the global oil glut.
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Orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rebounded less than
expected in March. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that
orders for durable goods increased 0.8 percent last month, below the
1.8 percent rise expected by economists polled by Reuters.
The U.S. Conference Board is expected to report at 10 a.m. ET that
its consumer confidence index was little changed at 96.0 in April.
Shares of Apple were down 0.8 percent at $104.25 in premarket
trading. The world's largest public company is expected to report a
fall in quarterly revenue on weakened demand for its smartphones.
Whirlpool was down 5.6 percent at $175.60 after its profit missed
expectations.
Dow components Procter & Gamble <PG.N> and 3M were little changed
after reporting results.
(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal; Editing by Don Sebastian)
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