US pre-open: Stocks seen up again after Dow breaks back above 25,000
US futures pointed to another upbeat session on Wall Street on Tuesday after the Dow broke back above 25,000 in the previous session for the first time since March.
At 1230 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were up 0.2%, while Nasdaq futures were 0.4% firmer.
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: "US futures are pointing to another higher open on Tuesday, building on Monday’s strong gains and benefiting from an apparent easing in trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
"The postponement of new tariffs by both the US and China and the revelation that the latter will cut import tariffs on cars from as much as 25% to 15% and on car parts to 6% is seen as an important step away from a trade war that could have negative implications globally. Trade protectionism was one of the fears of a Trump Presidency and his announcement of tariffs and his approach to trade agreements went some way to justifying such views but this could be an important breakthrough."
On the corporate front, department store chain Kohl's rose in pre-market trade as its first-quarter earnings beat expectations on both the top and bottom line.
Elsewhere, Dunkin' Brands was likely to be in focus after its board approved a $250m share buyback, while Advance Auto Parts looked set for a downbeat open after its first-quarter sales missed analysts' expectations.
Home construction group Toll Brothers was also in the red ahead of the open despite posting a 17% increase in quarterly revenue.
Still to come, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, Intuit and Red Robin Gourmet Burgers are slated to report their earnings after the close.
There is little due on the data front other than the Richmond Fed manufacturing index at 1500 BST, with the main highlight coming on Wednesday, when the Fed is due to release its latest meeting minutes.
Erlam said: "With sentiment gradually improving and risks subsiding, we could see stock markets edge their way back towards the levels we were seeing earlier this year, although we are still around 5% below those levels. It’s also worth noting the role that rising US yields could play with some citing the anticipated pick-up in yields as contributing to the less bullish environment.
"The recent comments from the Federal Reserve suggest they’re in no rush to raise rate forecasts despite the uptick in some of the data, particularly inflation. If the central bank is willing to accept above target inflation for a time, as long as it doesn’t rise too much, it could ease investor concerns. We should find out more about policy makers views on this in the FOMC minutes which will be released on Wednesday."