By Investors Hub
The major US index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday following the lackluster performance seen in the previous session.
Stocks may benefit from recent upward momentum, although early trading activity is likely to be somewhat subdued ahead of key events on Capitol Hill.
Traders are likely to keep a close eye on Federal Reserve Chair nominee Jerome Powell’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, looking for clues about his views on monetary policy.
A Senate Budget Committee hearing this afternoon on the Republican tax reform bill is also likely to attract attention.
Ahead of the hearing, GOP Senators Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Bob Corker, R-Tenn., have indicated they will vote against the bill in its current form.
Stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Monday following the strength seen last week. The major averages spent much of the day lingering near the unchanged line before eventually closing mixed.
While the Dow inched up 22.79 points or 0.1 percent to 23,580.78, the Nasdaq dipped 10.64 points or 0.2 percent to 6,878.52 and the S&P 500 edged down 1.00 point or less than a tenth of a percent to 2,601.42.
The lackluster performance on the Wall Street came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves ahead of testimony from Powell and current Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
The Senate Banking Committee is due to hold a confirmation hearing for Powell on Tuesday, while Yellen is scheduled to testify on the economic outlook before the Congressional Joint Economic Committee on Wednesday.
Economic data may also attract attention this week, as traders are likely to keep a close eye on reports on consumer confidence, pending home sales, personal income and spending, and manufacturing activity.
The Commerce Department released a report Monday morning showing new home sales unexpectedly jumped to a ten-year high in October.
The report showed new home sales surged up by 6.2 percent to an annual rate of 685,000 in October from the revised September rate of 645,000.
The notable increase surprised economists, who had expected new home sales to drop to a rate of 625,000 from the 667,000 originally reported for the previous month.
With the unexpected increase, new home sales reached their highest annual rate since hitting 727,000 in October of 2007.
Energy stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, moving lower along with the price of crude oil.
Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index tumbled by 1.8 percent and the Philadelphia Oil Service Index fell by 1.4 percent.
Considerable weakness was also visible among semiconductor stocks, as reflected by the 1.3 percent loss posted by the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index. The drop by the index came after it ended the previous session at a record closing high.
Computer hardware and biotechnology stocks also saw notable weakness on the day, while gold stocks moved higher along with the price of the precious metal.
