Bargain Hunting May Lead To Early Strength On Wall Street - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After pulling back sharply over the past several sessions, stocks may regain some ground in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the Dow futures up by 58 points.

Bargain hunting may contribute to some early strength on Wall Street following the weakness seen in the five previous sessions.

With the continued drop seen during trading on Monday, the Dow ended the session at its lowest closing level in almost six months.

A positive reaction to the latest earnings news from some big-name companies may also contribute to some early buying interest.

Shares of Ford (F) are moving notably higher in pre-market trading after the auto giant reported stronger than expected second quarter earnings growth.

Delivery giant UPS (UPS) may also see early strength after reporting second quarter earnings that exceeded analyst estimates.

Pfizer (PFE) and Merck (MRK) may also be in focus after both drug giants reported better than expected second quarter earnings and raised their full-year guidance.

Nonetheless, overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued as the Federal Reserve's two-day monetary policy meeting gets underway.

The Fed is due to announce its latest monetary policy decision on Wednesday, with many analysts expecting the central bank to hint at a rate hike in September.

On the U.S. economic front, the Conference Board is scheduled to release the results of its consumer confidence survey for July at 10 am ET.

Economists expect the Conference Board's consumer confidence index to dip to 99.6 in July after jumping to 101.4 in June.

Stocks moved notably lower over the course of the trading day on Monday, extending a recent downward trend. With the drop on the day, the major averages closed lower for the fifth consecutive session.

The major averages closed firmly in negative territory but off their worst levels of the day. The Dow fell 127.94 points or 0.7 percent to 17,440.59, the Nasdaq tumbled 48.85 points or 1 percent to 5,039.78 and the S&P 500 slid 12.01 points or 0.6 percent to 2,067.64.

In overseas trading, most stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved lower on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.7 percent. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index bucked the downtrend and rose by 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are regaining ground after trending lower in recent sessions. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has advanced by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are jumping by 1.3 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging up $0.09 to $47.48 a barrel after sliding $0.75 to $47.39 a barrel a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is currently trading at $1,093.80, down $2.60 from the previous session's close of $1,096.40. On Monday, gold rose $10.90

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 123.75 yen compared to the 123.25 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1033 compared to yesterday's $1.1088.