US stock futures fall back; Q3 earnings deluge scheduled

U.S. stock index futures slipped lower Tuesday, with the focus on third-quarter earnings from a string of major companies.

At 05:35 ET (09:35 GMT), Dow Jones Futures fell 150 points, or 0.4%, S&P 500 Futures dropped 23 points, or 0.4%, and Nasdaq 100 Futures slipped 113 points, or 0.6%. 

Most of the major Wall Street indices suffered a mildly negative session on Monday, with the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.8%, ending three consecutive winning sessions. The broad-based S&P 500 lost 0.2%, while the NASDAQ Composite outpaced its peers, rising 0.3%. Deluge of Q3 earnings  

There are a substantial number of major US companies set to report on Tuesday, as the third-quarter reporting kicks into top gear. 

About one-fifth of the S&P 500 index is slated to report results this week, and so far about 14% of companies in the broad index have reported results, with more than 7 out of 10 topping earnings estimates, according to FactSet.

Chipmakers Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN ) and Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX ), will be joined by defense firms GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE ), Rtx Corp (NYSE:RTX ) and Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT ), along with teleco Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ ), mining major Freeport-McMoran (NYSE:FCX ), industrial giant 3M Company (NYSE:MMM ) and automobile maker General Motors (NYSE:GM ). 

Electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA ) will report on Wednesday and is the biggest company reporting this week, while other Wall Street majors including AT&T (NYSE:T ), International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM ), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC ) and Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO ) are also due on Wednesday.

Additionally, SAP (NYSE:SAP ) stock rose almost 4% premarket after the German software company raised its full-year targets on a strong cloud business in the third quarter, while Zions Bancorporation (NASDAQ:ZION ) gained about 3% on strong earnings. IMF, Fedspeak in focus 

The International Monetary Fund is expected to update its outlook for the global economy later Tuesday, and investors will also be listening to more Fedspeak, with FOMC member Patrick Harker set to speak during the session.   

Four Federal Reserve policymakers on Monday backed further reductions in interest rates following the central bank's decision to cut borrowing costs by an outsized 50 basis points in September.

However, comments from these officials seemed to indicate some lingering disagreement over the pace of the drawdowns.

The US presidential election is also in focus, with Republican nominee Donald Trump seen gaining above Vice President Kamala Harris, recent polls showed, with about two weeks left to the ballot.  Crude bounces, but demand fears remain

Oil prices reversed earlier losses Tuesday, but a great deal of uncertainty clouded the global demand growth, particularly in top crude importer China.

By 05:35 ET, the Brent contract climbed 0.9% to $74.94 per barrel, while U.S. crude futures (WTI) traded 1% higher at $70.73 per barrel.

International Energy Agency head Fatih Birol warned on Monday that economic weakness in China will continue to stunt global oil demand in the coming years.

Birol’s comments -- made in an interview with Bloomberg -- came after both the International Energy Agency and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries recently slashed their demand growth forecasts on concerns over China.

However, tensions in the Middle East remain a support for the crude market, with traders fearful that an escalation of the conflict between Israel and both Hamas and Hezbollah could see supply from this oil-rich region severely impacted.

(Ambar Warrick contributed to this article.)

Source: Investing.com