U.S. Stocks May Move Back To The Upside In Early Trading

(RTTNews) - After ending yesterday's choppy trading session slightly lower, stocks may move back to the upside in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.2 percent.

The upward momentum on Wall Street comes as crude oil prices have pulled back well off their highs after surging earlier this morning.

U.S. crude oil futures are currently still up by 0.4 percent but had spiked by a much as 3 percent amid an apparent impasse in negotiations over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

However, traders may remain reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of key U.S. inflation data in the coming days.

The Labor Department is scheduled to release reports on consumer and producer inflation on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

On the heels of last Friday's report showing an unexpected decrease in U.S. employment, the data could impact the outlook for interest rates.

"US equities are hovering near record highs, but the next leg of the rally will depend on Wednesday's US inflation report," said Daniela Hathorn, Senior Market Analyst at Capital.com.

"After another strong earnings season, particularly among the technology giants, investors have become increasingly comfortable with the idea that the economy can continue expanding without forcing the Federal Reserve into further policy tightening," she added. "Whether that optimism proves justified now hinges on the inflation data."

Following the strong performance seen during the previous week, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Monday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before closing slightly lower.

The Dow slipped 60.95 points or 0.1 percent to 53,975.98, the Nasdaq fell 85.26 points or 0.3 percent to 26,605.36 and the S&P 500 edged down 4.53 points or 0.1 percent to 7,753.11.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance on Tuesday, with the Japanese markets closed for a holiday. China's Shanghai Composite Index slid by 0.8 percent, while South Korea's Kospi Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

The major European markets are also narrowly mixed on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 10) index is up by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.29 to $82.42 a barrel after soaring $3.95 to $82.13 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after climbing $20 to $4,419.70 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are advancing $28.60 to $4,448.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 159.24 yen compared to the 159.30 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1540 compared to yesterday's $1.1542.