Tuesday January 11th

U.S. stock index futures were little changed early Tuesday after a late rally in the previous session helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite snap a four-day losing streak. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained just 4 points. S&P 500 futures moved 0.1% higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.2%. Bond yields were mixed Tuesday, with shorter dated Treasurys up but rates rising for those at the longer end of the curve. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note dipped to 1.773% after hitting 1.8% on Tuesday. Early gainers included Illumina, which rose 4% in premarket trading after the genomic sequencing company issued a 2022 revenue outlook that was ahead of consensus. Energy shares also were higher as the price of U.S. crude rose 1.5%, sending Marathon Oil up 1.5%. Juniper Networks rose 2.7% after Bank of America upgraded the stock. In regular trading on Monday, the Nasdaq turned slightly green into the close after a day of continued declines from the previous week’s sell-off, sparked by a rise in bond yields and worries about upcoming actions by the Federal Reserve. It closed 0.05% higher and erased a 2.7% loss. Meanwhile, the Dow after being down more than 500 points ultimately lost 162 points, or 0.4%, while the S&P 500 slid 0.1%. Large tech stocks were poised to extend their gains on Tuesday, with shares of Apple and Nvidia rising 0.7% in premarket trading. On Monday, JPMorgan’s Marko Kolanovic said markets can withstand higher yields, as well as omicron, and that investors should buy the dip in the tech stocks. “The pullback in risk assets in reaction to the Fed minutes is arguably overdone,” he said in a note. “Policy tightening is likely to be gradual and at a pace that risk assets should be able to handle, and is occurring in an environment of strong cyclical recovery.” Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at the Leuthold Group, said that while the stock market is likely to encounter a correction this year – and last week’s action could perhaps have been the start of one – it will be met by strong company fundamentals. “Historically, the stock market has suffered some nasty ‘temper tantrums,’ and numerous rate hikes eventually led to recessionary bear markets,” Paulsen said in a note Monday evening. “However, the current focus among investors may be misplaced. The stock market’s response may have less to do with the timing and number of rate hikes than it does with the ‘direction’ of real earnings.” On the Federal Reserve front, Chair Jerome Powell will testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday as part of his re-confirmation process. Investors will be looking for insight into the Fed’s current views on inflation and the speed of policy tightening. “We can begin to see that the post-pandemic economy is likely to be different in some respects. The pursuit of our goals will need to take these differences into account. To that end, monetary policy must take a broad and forward-looking view, keeping pace with an ever-evolving economy,” Powell said in prepared remarks. Earnings season will be in full swing by the end of this week with the big banks set to report starting Friday. Grocery chain Albertson’s reported results that beat expectations on the top and bottom lines on Tuesday morning. Asia-Pacific markets mostly fell on Tuesday as investors remain concerned about inflation as well as likely policy tightening from central banks such as the U.S. Federal Reserve. Japan’s Nikkei 225 declined 0.9% to 28,222.48 while the Topix index fell 0.44% to 1,986.82. The Japanese market was closed in the previous session for a public holiday. South Korea’s Kospi wavered between gains and losses before finishing near flat at 2,927.38. The Kosdaq struggled and declined 1.07% to 969.92. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index finished fractionally lower at 23,739.06. Chinese mainland shares lost momentum and major indexes slipped: The Shenzhen component dropped 1.27% to 14,223.35 while the Shanghai composite was down 0.73% at 3,567.44. Oil prices climbed on Tuesday, with investors regaining some risk appetite as they await clues from the U.S. Federal Reserve chairman on potential interest rate rises and as some oil producers continued to struggle to beef up output. Brent crude futures gained 40 cents, or 0.5%, to $81.27 a barrel at 0529 GMT, after dropping 1% in the previous session. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 52 cents, or 0.7%, to $78.75 a barrel, after falling 0.8% on Monday. A weaker U.S. dollar helped support oil prices on Tuesday, as it makes oil cheaper for those holding other currencies. Gold prices rose on Tuesday, supported by a weaker U.S. dollar and Treasury yields, as traders awaited December inflation data and weighed bets for quicker interest rate hikes. Spot gold rose 0.3% to $1,805.98 per ounce by 0535 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.4% to $1,805.40.