By Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday, pausing after
the S&P 500 notched its biggest two-day advance in more than a
month.
S&P 500 futures slipped one point, or 0.1%, to 2108. E-mini
Dow futures added five points to 18000. E-mini Nasdaq-100 futures
shed seven points, or 0.2%, to 4469. Changes in stock futures don't
always accurately predict moves in the stock market after the
opening bell.
The S&P 500 has increased 1.4% over the last two sessions,
its largest two-day gain since March 30. On Monday, the S&P
added 0.3% to 2114.49, ending just short of its record close of
2117.69. The Dow rose 0.3% to 18070.40.
"We've had an impressive rally since Thursday," said Jim
Dunigan, chief investment officer at PNC Wealth Management. "A
little breather here isn't surprising," he added.
Back-and-forth action in stocks had kept a lid on gains for the
year. The S&P has added 2.7% in 2015, through Monday's close,
while the Dow is up 1.4%.
"We've had a significant decline in crude oil and a significant
strengthening of the dollar in a short period of time, so the
market was taking its time to digest the pace and the magnitude of
both of those moves," said Mr. Dunigan of PNC. The strong dollar
and low oil prices were cited as two headwinds to first-quarter
earnings going into the reporting season.
On Tuesday, crude-oil futures rose 1.8% to $59.97 a barrel. The
euro fell 0.3% to $1.1117.
"When you layer on top of that [the question of] when the Fed is
going to raise interest rates...there's a lot to digest," Mr.
Dunigan added.
Stock-market action was mixed overseas. Germany's DAX slipped
0.1%, while France's CAC 40 was nearly flat. The Stoxx Europe 600
added 0.3%.
The Shanghai Composite Index posted its biggest daily percentage
loss since Jan. 19. The index on Monday closed at its
second-highest level of the year. Worries about another crackdown
on margin financing exacerbated concerns about the slowing Chinese
economy, helping drag Shanghai shares lower.
In corporate news, Sprint Corp. hung on to its third-place rank
in the U.S. wireless business with 57.1 million total subscribers
at the end of March, though its revenue fell 7.7% in the first
three months of the year. Shares slipped 0.6% premarket.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted the top end of its range of
"reasonably possible" legal expenses to about $3.8 billion from
about $3 billion in February. Shares were unchanged in premarket
trade.
In other markets, gold futures rose 0.3% to $1190.10 an ounce.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note inched up to 2.144% from
2.135% on Monday. Yields rise as prices fall.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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