BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - Housing Starts Data for December, Home Price Index and Consumer Confidence Index are the major economic announcements.
The investors are keenly waiting for Fed Chair Jerome Powell's testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. It is expected that the testimony would provide clues about the outlook for U.S. Interest rates.
Earlier signs from the U.S. Futures Index point to a lower opening for Wall Street on Tuesday.
Asian shares finished mostly lower, while European shares are trading mostly down.
Corporate earnings also will get special special attention today.
As of 7.57 am ET, the Dow futures were losing 77.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were down 4.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were gaining 18.75 points.
Going into the close, the major averages managed to cling to modest gains. The Dow edged up 60.14 points or 0.2 percent to 26,091.95, the Nasdaq rose 26.92 points or 0.4 percent to 7,554.46 and the S&P 500 inched up 3.44 points or 1.2 percent to 2,796.11.
On the economic front, the Housing Starts Data for December will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for 1.260 million, slightly up from 1.256 million in the prior month. Consensus for permits levels is 1.290 million, down from 1.328 millions in the previous month.
The Redbook Data for the week will be issued at 8.55 am ET. In the prior week the Store Sales were up 5.4 percent.
S&P Corelogic case-Shiller Home Price Index or HPI for December will be released at 9.00 am ET. The consensus is for 0.4 percent, up from 0.3 percent in the previous month.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency or FHFA House Price Index for December will be issued at 9.00 am ET. The consensus is for 0.4 percent, unchanged from the prior month.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will deliver the semiannual monetary report to Congress before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs at 9.45 am ET.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for February will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase to 125.0 versus 120.2 in the prior month.
Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index for February will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 3, while it was minus 2 in January.
Seven-year Treasury Note Auction will be held at 1.00 pm ET.
In the corporate sector, Home Depot, Inc. reported a nearly 32 percent increase in profit for the fourth quarter from last year as higher sales helped offset the negative impact of an impairment loss.
However, results for the quarter missed analysts' expectations and the company also forecast fiscal 2019 earnings below their estimates. The company's shares are losing more than 3 percent in pre-market activity.
In addition, the company's board declared a 32 percent increase in the quarterly dividend and authorized a new $15 billion share repurchase program.
The company's net earnings for the fourth quarter were $2.34 billion or $2.09 per share, up from $1.78 billion or $1.52 per share in the same period last year.
The latest quarter's results were negatively impacted by a nonrecurring, pre-tax charge of about $247 million, or $184 million after tax, equalling $0.16 per share, due to an impairment loss related to certain trade names at Interline Brands.
On average, 28 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings per share of $2.16 for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Net sales for the quarter rose 10.9 percent to $26.49 billion from $23.88 billion a year ago. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $26.57 billion for the quarter.
Your leap-board to big gains! Intelligent Investor. Sign up for FREE 7-day Trial. Comparable sales for the quarter were positive 3.2 percent, and comparable sales in the U.S. were positive 3.7 percent.
Asian stocks fell on Tuesday as optimism on U.S.-China trade talks faded. Chinese shares fell on profit taking. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index fell 19.77 points or 0.67 percent to 2,941.52. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 187.24 points or 0.65 percent at 28,772.06.
Japanese shares inched lower. The Nikkei average slid 78.84 points or 0.37 percent to 21,449.39 after touching as high as 21,610.88, the highest level since mid-December, earlier in the day. The broader Topix index closed 0.23 percent lower at 1,617.20.
Australian markets fell. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 57.90 points or 0.94 percent to 6,128.40 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 54.60 points or 0.87 percent at 6,209.
European shares are trading mostly down. CAC 40 of France is losing 12.14 points or 0.23 percent. DAX of Germany is declining 30.80 points or 0.27 percent. FTSE 100 of England is down 76.32 points or 1.07 percent. Swiss Market Index is increasing 25.81 points or 0.27 percent.
Euro Stoxx 50 that provides a Blue-chip representation of supersector leaders in the Eurozone, is down 0.42 percent.
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