US stock futures edge lower amid rate uncertainty, pre-earnings angst

© Reuters

Investing.com– U.S. stock index futures fell slightly in Asian trade on Tuesday amid persistent uncertainty over the path of  interest rates, while anticipation of key earnings reports this week, particularly from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA), kept traders on edge. 

Markets saw a dearth of cues on account of a U.S. market holiday on Monday. But trading action is widely expected to pick up in the coming days, especially as the earnings season rolls on.

S&P 500, Nasdaq 100 and Dow Jones futures all fell between 0.1% to 0.2% by 19:34 ET (00:34 GMT). 

U.S. stock indexes had fallen on Friday, with the S&P 500 down 0.5%, while the NASDAQ Composite and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively.

Losses had come after Producer Price Index inflation data read stronger-than-expected for January.

The reading came just a few days after hotter-than-expected consumer price index inflation data, which ramped up concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates higher for longer.

This notion sparked some unwinding in U.S. stocks, although all three benchmark indexes remained squarely in sight of record highs hit last week.

A bulk of Wall Street’s recent rally has been driven largely by the technology sector, amid increasing optimism over demand for artificial intelligence. 

Fourth-quarter earnings from NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) are expected to be a major test of this notion for Wall Street this week, given that the company is at the heart of a massive AI-driven spike in valuation. 

Nvidia is expected to clock EPS of $4.63 from a revenue of $20.52 billion, when it reports earnings after the bell on Wednesday.

Before than, major retailer Walmart Inc (NYSE:WMT) is due to report its fourth-quarter earnings later on Tuesday, before the market open. The firm is seen as a key gauge of U.S. consumer spending, and is expected to post an EPS of $1.65 from a revenue of $169.3 billion.

On the deal-making front, Capital One Financial Corporation (NYSE:COF) said on late-Monday that it will acquire credit card company Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) in an all-stock, $35 billion deal, marking one of the largest deals seen so far in 2024.