Originally published by AxiTrader
Despite improving sentiment for equities in Asia, US index futures are pointing towards fresh losses ahead of the opening bell on Wednesday. Yesterday’s earnings release from Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) was somewhat telling, with the company falling short of expectations and revising guidance for the full year lower as a result of rising costs. US import tariffs are seen as being a key driver here, highlighting the fact that regardless of the overall objective, some businesses are going to suffer in the short term.
After the quiet start to the week in terms of economic data, today sees the release of US PMI prints for October, which could offer up some fresh direction for stocks. Anything that points towards a slowdown here could encourage the Fed to reign in the pace of rate hikes and in turn offer a boost for equities. Earnings season also continues apace and light of yesterday’s news from Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT), we can expect numbers from other industrial stocks such as Boeing (NYSE:BA) and Ford (NYSE:F) to be under close scrutiny, too. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) are also set to report, both after the close.
Ahead of the opening bell we’re calling the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 131 at 25060 and the S&P 500 down 19 at 2722.