U.S. stock futures were mixed on Tuesday as investors digested the first batch of corporate earnings and looked for updates on a stimulus package.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials lost 86 points, or 0.3%, to 28.712.
Futures for the S&P 500 inched back 1.25 points at 3,531.50.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite hiked 113 points, or 0.9%, to 12,211.25.
JPMorgan Chase reported better-than-expected results for the third quarter, sending the stock up more than 1% in the premarket. Johnson & Johnson, another Dow component, posted earnings that beat analyst expectations and raised its full-year profit guidance. However, J&J shares were down 1.6% after the company paused its coronavirus vaccine trial after an “adverse event” was reported 36 hours ago.
Asset-management giant BlackRock saw its shares pop more than 5% after the company reported earnings that beat analyst expectations. BlackRock also said its assets under management grew to $7.81 trillion from $7.32 trillion in the previous quarter.
Third-quarter results overall are expected to decline significantly; however, traders are hoping for surprise to the upside.
On Monday, investors rotated out of cyclicals and into technology names after little updates on a fiscal aid package were revealed. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 250 points and the S&P 500 gained 1.64%, both helped by a 6.4% jump in Apple's stock. With technology stocks leading the way, the Nasdaq Composite gained 2.56% on Monday, for its best day since September 9.
Apple's long awaited iPhone launch, which was pushed to October due to Covid-19, occurs on Tuesday and the company is expected to launch its first ever 5G iPhone. It will be “the most significant iPhone event in years,” Morgan Stanley's Katy Huberty told clients.
Apple shares were up another 2% in pre-market trading Tuesday.
Amazon's Prime Day starts on Tuesday and the two-day event could mark the biggest online shopping day of the year, according to NPD, with 57% of consumers planning to do some if not all of their holiday shopping this week. Amazon shares gained 1.5% in premarket trading Tuesday following a 4.8% pop on Monday.
Disney rallied more than 4% in pre-market trading after announcing a major company reorganization with streaming at the forefront of its business. Disney said it centralizing its media businesses into a single organization that will be responsible for content distribution, ad sales and Disney+.
Investors also weighed the possibility of a second coronavirus relief package from Washington. Over the weekend, the Trump administration called on Congress to pass a smaller $1.8-billion coronavirus relief bill as negotiations on a bigger package continue to run into roadblocks.
However, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi In a letter to colleagues, said the proposition has insufficient offers on healthcare issues.
The U.S. Labor Department will release September's consumer price index on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists polled by FactSet are expecting prices to increase 0.2%. Price rose 0.4% in August, helped by gains in the cost of gasoline.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.2% Tuesday. Trading in Hong Kong was suspended on Tuesday due to Typhoon Nangka.
Oil prices gained 78 cents to $40.21 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked a dollar to $1,927.90.