US stock futures rose on Tuesday as investors return from a holiday-extended weekend, while looking ahead to another batch of economic reports this week that could guide the interest rate outlook. Dow and S&P 500 futures edged up 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 0.2%. Last week, the Dow tumbled 2.3%, the S&P 500 was flat and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.4%. Those moves came as strong US economic data and hawkish Federal Reserve minutes dented sentiment around rate cuts, although solid earnings and excitement over artificial intelligence continued to support technology stocks. Investors now look ahead to consumer confidence data on Tuesday and the April PCE price index report on Friday to gain further clarity on the rates outlook. On the corporate front, earnings are set to come from retailers Costco Wholesale and Ulta Beauty.
The DAX rose 0.3% to trade around the 18,824 level on Tuesday, extending gains from the previous session and hovering near record highs, as traders continue to assess the monetary policy outlook. ECB’s inflation expectations edged lower in April, reaching its lowest since September 2021, reinforcing bets that ECB will start reducing rates next week. This came on top of the recent remarks from ECB Governing Body Council’s Olli Rehn and Philip Lane suggesting that a rate cut next week is almost certain. On the economic data front, Germany's wholesale prices fell by 1.8% year-on-year in April, easing from a 2.6% drop in the previous month. Among individual stocks, SAP (0.4%), Siemens (0.9%), Allianz (0.3%), and Mercedes-Benz (0.3%) were in the green.
The BSE index fell about 0.3% to finish at 75,170.5 in a choppy session on Tuesday, extending losses for the third day, due to weak global cues and anxiety ahead of the general election results set to be announced next week. Most sectors experienced pressure, with realty and energy being the top losers. On the global front, tensions escalated in the Middle East while investors awaited a key US inflation measure for insights into the Fed's policy path. Locally, Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party is expected to return to power, but there is some uncertainty around the margin of the victory.
The Shanghai Composite fell 0.46% to close at 3,110 while the Shenzhen Component dropped 1.3% to 9,391 on Tuesday, giving back gains from the previous session as a lack of fresh catalysts weighed on inverter sentiment. On Monday, Chinese semiconductor stocks rallied after Beijing set up its third state-backed investment fund, the biggest among the three, aimed at boosting the chip industry. Investors now look ahead to Chinese PMI figures later this week to gauge the health of the world’s second-largest economy. Notable losses were seen from heavyweight firms such as Zhongji Innolight (-4.4%), IEIT Systems (-4.8%), BEO Technology (-4.7%), Zhejiang Wanfeng (-4.4%) and Contemporary Amperex (-1.1%). In corporate news, China Vanke dropped 4% after selling a Shenzhen land plot at a loss-making reserve price amid liquidity issues.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 0.28% to close at 7,767 on Tuesday, giving back some gains from the previous session, as losses in heavyweight financial stocks outweighed gain in the mining and energy sectors. Investors also reacted to data showing Australian retail sales rose less than expected in April amid cautious spending. Markets now look ahead to domestic inflation figures on Wednesday for further clues on Reserve Bank of Australia monetary policy. Losses in the financial sector were led by Westpac Banking (-0.6%), Macquarie Group (-0.9%) and QBE Insurance (-0.1%). Other index heavyweights also tumbled including Wesfarmers (-0.6%), Sonic Healthcare (-1%) and Transurban Group (-1.3%). In corporate news, Boss Energy tumbled 11.1% following reports that CEO Duncan Craib offloaded 3.75 million of his 4.42 million shares last week.
