FX.co ★ Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

Major U.S. index futures are indicating a potentially flat opening for Tuesday, following a tempered market increase at the end of Monday's trading session. Significant moves may be unlikely as traders anticipate Wednesday's announcement on monetary policy by the Federal Reserve.

The Fed is predicted to keep interest rates steady, but further commentary from Jerome Powell, the Fed Chair, during his post-meeting press conference might provide additional insights about the future of rates. Recent economic reports have reduced the scope for an imminent rate cut, and the central bank is now expected to maintain the current rates until at least September.

Pharmaceutical company, Eli Lilly, is experiencing a surge in pre-market shares following the disclosure of better-than-expected first quarter profits and improved full-year guidance. Industrial conglomerate 3M is also gaining pre-market traction upon reporting impressive first quarter results. Conversely, McDonald's stocks may suffer a setback due to a shortfall in their first quarter earnings compared to analyst forecasts. Despite reporting positive first quarter results, beverage giant Coca-Cola is likely to witness modest pre-market weakness.

Reflecting on last week's upward trend, Monday's market session ended on a positive note, albeit with minor fluctuations. Amongst the significant shares movement, Tesla’s shares soared 15.3 percent after local restrictions on its cars were lifted by Chinese authorities.

Traders, however, remained cautious in anticipation of Wednesday's Fed's monetary policy announcement and were wary of the impending substantial earnings news this week, along with the Labor Department's highly anticipated monthly jobs report.

Tobacco stocks staged a significant comeback on the day, contributing a 1.5 percent increase to the NYSE Arca Tobacco Index. Other sectors showcasing notable strengths included the utilities and biotechnology sectors, along with telecom and commercial real estate stocks.

In the commodity and currency markets, crude oil futures are moderately higher, and gold futures are seeing a significant drop. The U.S. dollar continues to strengthen against the yen and the euro.

Asian markets broadly advanced on Tuesday, although Chinese markets performed below expectations due to mixed PMI data. The U.S. dollar gained against major peers ahead of the Fed's policy announcement. Amid talks surrounding a potential ceasefire in Gaza, gold prices slipped while oil trended sideways.

In contrast to a private survey showcasing a healthier manufacturing sector, official surveys disclosed a slower expansion pace in manufacturing and services activity for April. Consequently, Chinese stocks closed lower, with Shanghai's Composite Index dropping to 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, Japan's markets made significant gains as the trading resumed after an extended holiday weekend. The Nikkei 225 Index noted a considerable jump due to significant U.S. dollar gains. Factors like suspected intervention in the currency markets by authorities and positive reveals in Japan's March factory output data were also influential in driving the bullish trend.

In March, Japan's retail sales showed significantly less growth than anticipated, with the unemployment rate sticking at 2.6 percent, as separate data indicated. Meanwhile in Seoul, there was a slight increase in stock even as monthly data suggested an uneven economic recovery. The primary index, Kospi, saw an upward trend of 0.2 percent to 2,692.06.

Notably, Samsung Electronics' shares increased by over 1 percent. This surge came after the memory chip giant declared a significant leap in operating profit by 932.8 percent for the first quarter ending March, in line with a boom in global AI development.

The Australian markets saw small gains despite underwhelming retail sales data that eased concerns about immediate rate hikes. The S&P ASX 200 index rose by 0.4 percent to settle at 7,664.10, while the All Ordinaries Index rose by 0.3 percent, reaching 7,932. There was mostly a surge in the banking sector as they anticipated trading updates in early May. Azure Minerals shares soared by 8.2 percent as SH Mining's takeover deal for the company advanced, with a pivotal approval received from the Foreign Investment Review Board.

Across in New Zealand, the benchmark S&P NZX-50 index rose by 0.4% to 11,957.50.

In other regions, particularly Europe, stocks performed modestly as investors eagerly await any updates from the Federal Reserve regarding the potential reduction of interest rates. The Eurostat's preliminary flash estimate indicated that the euro area economy expanded in the first quarter after twofold consecutive declines. With a GDP growth beyond expectations by 0.3 percent, the economy has demonstrated signs of recovery from an economic slump.

Furthermore, the German economy, escaping from a recession in the first quarter, witnessed a more-than-expected GDP growth of 0.2 percent sequentially. The headline inflation in the Euro area matches the forecast at 2.4 percent in April, with a monthly increment of 0.6 percent.

However, the French CAC 40 index and the German DAX index experienced a decline by 0.2 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, while the UK's FTSE 100 index rose by 0.6 percent, backed by impressive earnings updates from key corporates such as HSBC and Hargreaves.

In corporate news, several companies experienced fluctuating performances. Stellantis NV fell by 2.2 percent after they recorded a 12 percent decline in revenue for the first quarter. On the other hand, computer parts maker Logitech soared by 7.8 percent after posting fourth-quarter results that exceeded expectations.

Similar news was reported in the U.S., where a series of economic reports are expected, including Standard & Poor's report on home prices in major metropolitan areas for February, MNI Indicators' report on Chicago-area business activity for April, and The Conference Board's report on consumer confidence for April.