US pre-open: Futures little changed, S&P 500 retreats from record highs

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were little changed ahead of the bell on Tuesday after the S&P 500 slipped from its all-time high in the previous session. As of 1225 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.03%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.09% and 0.18% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 62.30 points lower on Monday as early gains were quickly erased.

Tuesday's primary focus will be February's consumer confidence figures, due out at 1500 GMT, with traders hoping to get some insight into consumers' thinking ahead of their week's all-important consumption expenditure price index on Thursday. Market participants will be closely watching these releases for any hints as to the state of the US economy and for clues as to the potential future path of monetary policy.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "For now, there's little doubt that market sentiment remains very bullish. But, as posited before, how much further can the market rally without some kind of correction? There are still plenty of investors who feel the market is overvalued. They can point to recent, and significant, stock sales from market insiders such as Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, Jamie Dimon, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and the Walton family, owners of Walmart, as evidence that US equities are peaking. Others say that the lack of any negative reaction to the selling demonstrates underlying market strength."

Elsewhere on the macro front, January durable goods orders will be out at 1330 GMT, while December's housing price index will be published at 1400 GMT, and manufacturing data from the Dallas and Richmond Federal Reserve Banks will follow at 1500 GMT.

In the corporate space, retailers Macy's and Lowe's traded lower in pre-market on the back of some weak guidance, while Zoom Video delivered quarterly earnings that came in ahead of analysts' expectations.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com