By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen opening higher Tuesday, rebounding from Monday’s hefty losses, helped by strong results from IBM (NYSE:IBM).
At 7:05 AM ET (1105 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 150 points, or 0.5%, S&P 500 Futures traded 17 points, or 0.4%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures gained 70 points, or 0.5%.
The major equity indices closed sharply lower on Wall Street Monday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slumping more than 700 points, or 2.1%, to post its worst day since October. The broad-based S&P 500 fell 1.6% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.1%.
Investors deserted the equity markets amid fears the latest surge in U.S. Covid-19 cases, largely due to the fast-spreading delta variant, could prompt officials to impose new lockdowns and business closures.
President Joe Biden, in a speech Monday, pleaded with the populace to get vaccinated to help boost the nation’s economic recovery, citing higher rates of Covid-19 in states with low vaccination rates.
Meanwhile, IBM (NYSE:IBM) will be in the spotlight after the tech giant reported better than expected second-quarter revenue growth after the close Monday, boosted by strong growth in its Cloud and consulting businesses.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) could also be in focus following a Bloomberg report that the iPhone maker is seeking an expansion in Hollywood, looking to deepen its commitment to streaming content.
The earnings season is set to continue Tuesday, with numbers from Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) the highlight of Tuesday’s session. The streaming giant was one of the clear winners of the pandemic’s stay at home lifestyle, but analysts will want to see its expectations for subscriber growth as life returns to normal. They'll also want comment on any plans it may have to add videogaming to its service.
Investors will also study results from the likes of Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), to gauge the return of customers to restaurants, and United Airlines (NASDAQ:UAL), over whether the surge in travel demand can last.
The economic data slate centers around the housing market, with June building permits and housing starts due at 8:30 AM ET (1230 GMT).
Elsewhere, oil prices edged lower Tuesday, after the previous session’s sharp selloff on the back of worries that increased Covid cases will hit the short-term demand for energy just as a group of top producers agreed to increase supply.
Investors now await U.S. crude oil supply data from the American Petroleum Institute, due later in the day, Last week’s number showed the smallest draw on inventories in five weeks, suggesting that the rebound in demand in the U.S. may be slackening in the near term.
By 7:05 AM ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.2% lower at $66.20 a barrel, after dropping more than 7% Monday, their worst session since September, while the Brent contract fell 0.2% to $68.47, after falling 6.8% to an eight-week low.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.4% to $1,816.35/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% lower at 1.1780.