As per the recent study and analysis report given by the critics U.S. stocks are set to start lower Tuesday as investors expressed caution ahead of a slew of corporate quarterly results.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets would open when trading will begin.
Investors are on edge ahead of a wave of third-quarter results this week.
Manus Cranny, market analyst for MF Global in London, said the “decided lack of confidence in the London market this morning” stemmed from banking analyst Meredith Whitney, who downgraded Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) to “neutral” ahead of its third quarter earnings report, scheduled for Thursday.
“It could be an emotional and rocky third quarter both sides of the pond,” wrote Cranny in a note to investors, adding that “U.K. banks are decidedly queasy on the back of the Goldman’s downgrade.”
The markets might also pause for breath after pushing the Dow Jones industrial average to a fresh one-year peak on Monday. The Dow gained 20 points, or 0.2%, leaving it about 114 points short of 10,000.
Companies: Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) is due to report results before U.S. markets open Tuesday, while chipmaker Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) is slated to release its results after the closing bell.
AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) has reached a deal to sell its Taiwan life insurance unit for $2.2 billion.
Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) will reveal the legal advice it received related to its merger with Merrill Lynch, according to reports in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal.
World markets: Asian shares finished higher. Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.6% while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rallied 1.2%. Investors in Europe were more downbeat, with major indexes edging lower in midday trading.