US Stocks Likely To Open Lower As Traders Await Slew Of Data: US-Listed Chinese Stocks In Focus Following Stimulus Pledge

U.S. stock futures declined on Tuesday in premarket hours and the dollar rose to 106.357 level.

The 10-year and two-year Treasury notes yielded 4.21% and 4.13%, respectively. Expectations of a further 25 basis point rate cut in December increased to 86.1% from 72.9% a week ago, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Monday marked the sixth consecutive day of negative breadth in the S&P 500 Index, Willie Delwiche, CMT, CFA said. “This matches the longest streak of negative breadth since we went eight days in a row in December 2018,” he said.

Wednesday’s release of November’s consumer price index will provide insights into inflation trends. Federal Reserve officials are currently in a quiet period ahead of their December meeting.

In premarket trading on Tuesday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) was down 0.02% to $604.58 and the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) declined 0.03% to $522.21, according to Benzinga Pro data.

Cues From The Last Session

U.S. stock markets closed lower on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite pulling back from recent record highs. The tech sector was a major drag, led by declines in Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD).

Nvidia shares fell over 2% after a Chinese regulatory probe into potential antitrust violations. AMD, meanwhile, dropped nearly 6% following a downgrade from BofA Securities.

Despite the Monday dip, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq had gained 0.96% and 3.34%, respectively, over the past three weeks. The Dow Jones, however, shed 0.6% during the same period.

On the economic front, U.S. wholesale inventories rose slightly in October, aligning with expectations.

While most sectors on the S&P 500 closed lower, healthcare and real estate stocks bucked the trend and finished the day in positive territory.

Insights From Analysts:

Talking about the upcoming decision by FOMC on the interest rates, Jeremy Siegel, said, “I anticipate a 25-basis-point cut in December, paired with a strong signal to pause further easing—a so-called hawkish cut.”

Siegel is a senior economist at WisdomTree and emeritus professor of finance at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.

“Inflation remains well-contained, though the University of Michigan's one-year inflation expectations shot up to 2.9%,
warranting close attention and possibly signaling concerns about Trump's tariff policies,” he added.

“U.S. payrolls for November showed the economy is adding jobs at a healthy clip. Wage growth remains above the level that would allow inflation to settle at the Fed's 2% target – a reason we do not see the Fed cutting rates sharply,” according to a BlackRock note.

As per Siegel, “equities remain strong,” but at 22 times earnings, its “valuations are not cheap.”

“Investors should be careful about becoming over-exuberant in December” he added saying that he “could see a muted and rather disappointing next few weeks, while a better Q1.” Siegel also said, “…2025 is unlikely to be as strong a market as we had in 2023 and 2024.”

“Robust economic growth, broad earnings growth, and a quality tilt underpin our conviction,” said BlackRock in their note. They added that they are “overweight in U.S. stocks versus other regions.”

BlackRock said, “We see the AI buildout and adoption creating opportunities across sectors. We tap into beneficiaries outside the tech sector.”

“We see valuations for big tech backed by strong earnings, and less lofty valuations for other sectors,” the note added.

Siegel also said that AI-driven productivity gains will influence growth trends in 2025. “While AI cannot yet replace all forms of labor, its impact on middle management and sectors like transportation could prove transformative, offering both risks and rewards for forward-looking investors,” he said.

See Also: How To Trade Futures

Upcoming Economic Data

This week’s economic calendar is packed with essential data releases that will help investors shape their future plans and strategies.

• On Tuesday, November’s data on the NFIB optimism index will be released at 6:00 a.m. ET.
• The revised U.S. productivity data for the third quarter will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
• On Wednesday, November’s headline and core consumer price index data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
• The monthly U.S. federal budget data will be released at 2:00 p.m. ET.
• On Thursday, initial jobless claims data till Dec. 7 and the core and headline producer price index for November will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.
• On Friday, the import price index data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Stocks In Focus

• Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) shares fell 8.63% to $174 apiece in premarket after it reported second-quarter revenue of $14.06 billion, up 9% year-over-year. The revenue total missed a Street consensus estimate of $14.11 billion, according to data from Benzinga Pro.
• C3.ai Inc. (NYSE:AI) shares were up 6.71% in premarket trading after it beat expectations with a second-quarter loss of 6 cents per share and revenue of $94.34 million. Subscription revenue jumped 22%, helping total revenue grow 29%. The firm ended the quarter with $730.4 million in cash.
• Shares of Chinese companies listed in the U.S., including UP Fintech Holding Ltd. (NASDAQ:TIGR), Futu Holdings Ltd.(NASDAQ:FUTU), KE Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BEKE), and Lufax Holding Ltd. (NYSE:LU) declined in premarket trade by 11.97%, 7.73%, 4.61%, 9.25%, respectively. The stocks closed higher on Monday after China said it will adopt an “appropriately loose” monetary policy next year.
• Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) stock dipped 1.11% in premarket after falling 2.55% on Monday as China announced an antitrust probe linked to its Mellanox deal.
• Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) slipped 0.07% to $130.78 apiece in premarket after falling by 5.57% on Monday as Bank of America analysts downgraded their rating on the stock from ‘Buy’ to ‘Neutral’, also cutting the price target to $155 per share.
• Investors are awaiting earnings results from United Natural Foods, Inc. (NYSE:UNFI), AutoZone, Inc. (NYSE:AZO), and G-III Apparel Group, Ltd. (NASDAQ:GIII) today.

Commodities, Bonds And Global Equity Markets:

Crude oil futures fell in the early New York session, advancing 0.37% to hover around $68.11 per barrel.

The gold spot index was largely unchanged as it rose by 0.03% $2,686.61 per ounce. The Dollar Index was up 0.20% to 106.357 level.

Most Asian markets advanced including Japan’s Nikkei 225, China’s CSI 300, India’s S&P BSE Sensex and South Korea’s Kospi Index. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, and Australia’s ASX 200 closed lower. Most European markets declined.

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