U.S. Stocks May See Further Upside On Tech Earnings Optimism

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session mostly higher, stocks may see further upside in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a higher open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.3 percent.

Tech stocks may help to lead an early advance on Wall Street, as reflected by the 0.6 percent increase by the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures.

Traders remain optimistic ahead of the release of earnings news from big-name tech companies like Apple (AAPL), Meta Platforms (META) and Microsoft (MSFT).

Shares of Apple are jumping by 1.6 percent in pre-market trading after surging by 3.0 percent on Monday, while Meta and Microsoft may also see further upside after moving notably higher in the previous session.

Positive sentiment may also be generated in reaction to upbeat earnings news from big-name companies like General Motors (GM) and UPS (UPS).

On the other hand, a slump by shares of UnitedHealth (UNH) is likely to weigh on the Dow, with the health insurance giant plunging by 15.7 percent in pre-market trading.

The steep drop by UnitedHealth comes after the company reported slightly better than expected fourth quarter earnings but provided disappointing revenue guidance.

A Trump administration proposal calling for nearly flat rates for Medicare Advantage insurers is also likely to weigh on insurance stocks.

Not long the start of trading, the Conference Board is scheduled to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of January. The consumer confidence index is expected to rise to 90.0 in January after falling to 89.1 in December.

Following the mixed performance seen during last Friday's session, stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Monday. With the upward move, the major averages further offset the steep drop seen last Tuesday.

The major averages moved to the downside going into the end of the day but remained in positive territory. The Dow advanced 313.69 points or 0.6 percent to 49,412.40, the Nasdaq rose 100.11 points or 0.4 percent to 23,601.36 and the S&P 500 climbed 34.62 points or 0.5 percent to 6,950.23.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher during trading on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index advanced by 0.9 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.4 percent and South Korea's Kospi surged by 2.7 percent.

Most European stocks have also moved to the upside on the day. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.4 percent, although the German DAX Index is just below the unchanged line.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are jumping $0.64 to $61.27 a barrel after sliding $0.44 to $60.63 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after surging $102.80 to $5,082.50 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $2.90 to $5,079.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 153.21 yen compared to the 154.15 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1933 compared to yesterday's $1.1879.