Futures Pointing To Early Weakness On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Following the long holiday weekend, stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 44 points.

The downward momentum for the markets may partly reflect some trepidation ahead of the release of a slew of U.S. economic data.

The data could have a significant impact on the outlook for interest rates, with the next Federal Reserve meeting looming just a few weeks away.

While recent data has suggested that the Fed is not likely to raise rates at the June meeting, analysts have noted that a rate hike is not completely out of the question.

The Commerce Department recently released a report showing a modest drop in durable goods orders in April, although the decrease largely reflected a pullback in the volatile transportation sector.

The report said durable goods orders dipped by 0.5 percent in April after surging up by a revised 5.1 percent in March. The drop in orders came in line with economist estimates.

Excluding the decrease in orders for transportation equipment, durable goods orders rose by 0.5 percent in April compared to a revised 0.6 percent increase in March.

Economists had expected ex-transportation orders to edge up by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.2 percent drop originally reported for the previous month.

Trading could also be impacted by the impending release of reports on home prices, new home sales, and consumer confidence.