Futures edge up ahead of economic data

[November 15, 2016]  By Tanya Agrawal

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures ticked up on Tuesday, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average racked up its sixth straight day of gains.

* Investors will keep an eye on economic data due on Tuesday as well as fresh clues regarding President-elect Donald Trump's policies and key appointments to his administration.

* Expectations that Trump's administration will cut taxes, increase spending and accelerate inflation have boosted the dollar, stocks and industrial metals and driven bond yields higher.

* The dollar slipped from an 11-month high, pausing for breath after rallying almost 3 percent since Trump's win.

* Trump's shock victory has fueled expectations of higher U.S. growth, but his plans for heavy fiscal spending and trade protectionism are also seen likely to fuel inflation.

* U.S. stocks closed little changed on Monday after rising dramatically the week before and a decline in the technology sector offset a steep rise in financial stocks as investors bet on higher interest rates.

* Data is expected to show that growth in October retail sales are expected to have remained steady at 0.5 percent, after a similar rise in September. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1330 GMT).

* Investors will also keep an eye on a host of U.S. Federal Reserve speakers on Tuesday, including Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren, Fed Governor Dan Tarullo, Dallas Fed head Rob Kaplan and Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer.

* The central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates at its next meeting in December. Traders have priced in an 86 percent chance, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

* Oil prices rose more than 2 percent, bouncing back from multi-month lows on expectations that OPEC will agree later this month to cut production.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

* Home Depot rose 1.8 percent to $130.00 in premarket trading after the No. 1 U.S. home improvement chain reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter.

* JD.com was up 4.6 percent at $24.80 after China's second-largest e-commerce firm's third-quarter revenue beat analysts' expectations.

* American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Continental Holdings were up between 3.3 percent and 4.5 percent, a day after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway <BRKa.N> said it had bought shares in the airlines.

Futures snapshot at 6:48 a.m. ET:

* S&P 500 e-minis were up 4 points, or 0.19 percent, with 116,958 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis  were up 8.25 points, or 0.18 percent, on volume of 24,452 contracts.

* Dow e-minis were up 20 points, or 0.11 percent, with 26,271 contracts changing hands.

(Reporting by Tanya Agrawal)

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