U.S. stock futures drifted higher Tuesday morning, pointing to a somewhat flat beginning on Wall Street this morning after yet another sell-off day Monday despite a series of strong earnings releases. Investors await several economic releases due out this morning, including housing and consumer confidence, looking for direction.Economic releases this morning include September durable goods orders at 8:30 a.m. Eastern, which is expected to have risen. At 9 a.m., the August Case-Shiller Home Price Index is due out. Prices are expected to have continued their slide. At the same time, October's Conference Board reading on consumer confidence will be released. Economists expect confidence has improved slightly.
Overseas, stocks in Asia finished lower, with Japan's Nikkei index losing 1.5%. This is despite news out of India that its central bank took the first step toward withdrawing its monetary stimulus as inflation pressures build, ordering lenders to keep more cash in government bonds. European markets edged higher in morning trading.
Meanwhile, oil prices lingered below $79 a barrel Tuesday in Asia after three days of losses as investors eyed a volatile U.S. dollar.
And just to illustrate the confusion even among market experts, Goldman Sachs thinks the stabilization in U.S. home prices won't last, while BofA Merrill Lynch analysts see home price appreciation.
Early earnings reports already came out of BP (NYSE: BP), which posted a fall in net profit, but beat estimates. Honda (NYSE: HMC) too posted quarterly results that topped expectations. Other companies reporting today include Johnson Controls Inc (JCI), Valero Energy Corp (VLO), United States Steel Corp (X), and Textron Inc. (TXT).
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