US equity futures drifted lower on Tuesday while market participants prepared for a new wave of corporate financial disclosures. The S&P 500 index slipped 0.1% and the Nasdaq 100 dropped 0.5% in early trading, contrasting with a 0.2% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This premarket activity followed a Monday session in which the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 closed higher, while the Dow ended in negative territory.
Investor attention turned to after-hours reports from significant market players, including SpaceX (SPCX) and Netflix (NFLX). Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and United Airlines (UAL) are also set to release their latest financial results after the Tuesday close. In a client note issued Monday, RBC Capital Markets stated it anticipated SpaceX would continue providing "ambitious" business updates alongside its earnings, citing growing investor curiosity about a possible merger with Tesla (TSLA). Separately, Wedbush Securities noted last week that Netflix is implementing substantial changes to counter slowing viewer engagement and stimulate growth, although it warned these benefits may take time to appear.
Before the opening bell, GE Aerospace (GE), RTX (RTX), 3M (MMM), Northrop Grumman (NOC), General Motors (GM), Genuine Parts (GPC) and Hasbro (HAS) were expected to publish their earnings. Oppenheimer Asset Management raised its full-year earnings outlook for the S&P 500 in a Monday report, attributing the move to a strong start to the third-quarter reporting season.
Treasury yields displayed mixed movement early Tuesday. The two-year rate increased by 1.3 basis points to reach 4.77%, while the 10-year rate fell by 1.1 basis points to 5.13%. September housing starts and permits data were due at 8:30 am ET, with the pending home sales index for the same month scheduled for 10 am ET.
Commodity prices reacted to geopolitical tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude oil surged 4.4% to $108.17 a barrel on Tuesday. Brent crude rose 1.5% to $111.15 a barrel, marking its highest point since May, according to Reuters. This movement followed Monday's announcement by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels that they launched multiple strikes against Saudi Arabia, targeting energy, airport and military infrastructure. Saudi authorities did not immediately verify the Houthi claims.
Precious metals and digital assets declined in value. Spot gold fell 0.7% to $4,131 per troy ounce, while bitcoin dipped 0.4% to $81,483.