U.S. stock futures were mixed in a narrow range Tuesday morning, indicating Wall Street stocks could have a flat open, despite Goldman Sachs topping earnings estimates. It seems investors are much more concerned about the general earnings season and the grim outlook for corporate results. Some economic data released later this morning, including retail sales and inflation numbers, will also grab investors' attention.[Update 9:10: Following a downbeat retail sales report, futures have turned lower and Wall Street is headed for a lower open.]
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) reported a larger-than-expected quarterly profit of $1.8 billion after the close on Monday. It also announced plans to sell $5 billion in stock to help repay its $10 billion government loan. Today, two Dow stocks will be reporting earnings, Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Intel (NASDAQ: INTC).
Overseas, Asian stock markets advanced Tuesday following Goldman's strong showing and European shares also opened higher. Still, Asian economies and companies have been showing more signs of weakness such as the biggest contraction ever in Singapore's economy by 20%.
Economic data on tap today includes producer price index for March, due out at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, March retail sales, also to be released at the same time and February business inventories to be reported at 10:00 a.m.
President Barack Obama is scheduled to speak at 11:30 a.m. Eastern about the economy, but while he may try to explain his plans and any economic progress made, his speech isn't expected to have any major announcements. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is also due to deliver a speech on "Four Questions about the Financial Crisis."
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