Wall Street Worried Amid Earnings Misses, Economic Uncertainty

(RTTNews) - Early indications suggest that Wall Street stocks may open Tuesday's session lower. Global cues are not very encouraging, with Asian stocks going about a lackluster run, while the European markets are moving to the downside despite the release of encouraging domestic earnings. IBM announced sub-par revenues and trimmed its outlook, adding to a slew of disappointing earnings news. The domestic markets may also track the moves in the commodity markets and the housing starts report due for the day.

As of 6:30 am ET, the Dow futures are slipping 64 points, the S&P 500 futures are receding 7.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are slipping 14.25 points.

U.S. stocks ended a lackluster session on Tuesday little changed, as a retreat in commodity prices and some disappointing earnings rendered the mood negative.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department is due to release its housing starts report for September at 8:30 am ET. Economists expect new home sales to come in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.147 million units, while building permits are expected at 1.170 million units.

New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley and Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell are due to give opening remarks at the New York Fed conference on the structure of the treasury market at 9 am ET. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is schedule to make the welcoming remarks at Labor Department ceremony in Washington at 11 am ET.

In corporate news, IBM (IBM) reported better than expected third quarter profits, while its revenues missed expectations. The company also lowered its full year guidance.

Rambus (RMBS) reported below consensus results for its third quarter and the company's fourth quarter revenues guidance was weak.

Flextronics (FLEX) reported better than expected second quarter adjusted earnings and sales and issued in line guidance for the third quarter.

Sonic (SONC) reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings and revenues that exceeded estimates. The company also raised its earnings per share outlook for the full year.

Varian Medical Systems (VAR) lowered its adjusted earnings per share guidance for the full year to $4.29 per share, below the consensus estimate of $4.40 per share, citing shortfall of revenues in its Oncology Systems business. Zion Bancorp.'s (ZION) third quarter earnings trailed expectations.

Steel Dynamics (STLD) reported in line third quarter adjusted earnings, while its revenues fell 16.7 percent year-over-year.

Celestica (CLS), Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG), Cree (CREE), Discover Financial Services (DFS), Packaging Corp. of America (PKG), Vmware (VMW) and Yahoo (YHOO) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results after the close of trading.

The major Asian markets ended mixed, as the lackluster lead from Wall Street overnight failed to rev up sentiment. However, the Chinese and New Zealand markets advanced notably.

The Japanese market rebounded, as the yen's weakness proved positive for the export-heavy Nikkei 225 average. The index ended up 75.92 points or 0.42 percent at 18,207. Australia's All Ordinaries closed 33 points or 0.62 percent lower at 5,272. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended at 22,989, down 86.39 points or 0.37 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite rallied 38.63 points or 1.14 percent before ending at 3,425.

On the economic front, the minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's October Monetary Policy Committee meeting showed that the board is of the view that the country's economic recovery is moving at a gradual pace but continues to be on track. The minutes downplayed the need for an immediate rate hike to support growth.

European stocks opened on a nervous note and showed indecision in early trading before taking a steep plunge. The markets were digesting some domestic earnings and looked ahead to the U.S. housing starts data due later in the day.

In corporate news, German business software giant SAP (SAP) reported higher third quarter profits on strong subscription to its cloud software. The company also affirmed its full year guidance. U.K.'s Whitbread also reported strong profit for its first half, boosted by performance of its Costa Coffee chain. InterContinental Group reported room REVPAR growth of 4.8 percent year-year in the third quarter.

On the economic front, a report released by the German Federal Statistical Office showed that German producer prices declined 2.1 percent year-over-year, the fastest pace in seven months. The decline was worse than the 1.8 percent drop economists had predicted. On a monthly basis, producer prices were down 0.4 percent.

Eurozone's current account surplus decreased sharply in August, figures from the European Central Bank showed. The current accounts surplus declined to an unadjusted 17.7 billion euros from 25.6 billion euros in July.