U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction Following Yesterday's Rally

(RTTNews) - After moving sharply higher over the course of the previous session, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Tuesday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may take a step back to assess the near-term outlook for the markets following the substantial volatility seen over the past several sessions.

The rally on Monday extended a notable rebound seen during last Friday's trading, helping the major averages largely offset the steep drop seen for much of last week.

The futures remained little changed even after the release of long-delayed reports on U.S. retail sales and producer prices in the month of September.

The Commerce Department released a report showing retail sales in the U.S. increased by less than expected in the month of September.

The report said retail sales rose by 0.2 percent in September after climbing by 0.6 percent in August. Economists had expected retail sales to grow by 0.4 percent.

Excluding a dip in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales increased by 0.3 percent in September after advancing by 0.6 percent in August. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.4 percent.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed producer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of September.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.3 percent in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August. The monthly price growth matched expectations.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by producer prices came in at 2.7 percent in September, unchanged from an upwardly revised reading in August.

Economists had expected the annual rate of producer price growth to tick up to 2.7 percent from the 2.6 percent originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, payroll processor ADP released a report showing U.S. private sector employers shed an average of 13,500 jobs per week in the four weeks ending November 8th compared to an average loss of 2,500 jobs in the previous four-week period.

Not long after the start of trading, the Conference Board is due to release its report on consumer confidence in the month of November. The consumer confidence is expected to fall to 93.3 in November after dipping to 94.6 in October.

The National Association of Realtors is also scheduled to release its report on pending home sales in the month of October. Pending home sales are expected to decrease by 0.4 percent in October after coming in unchanged in September.

Following the notable rebound seen during last Friday's session, stocks showed an even more substantial move to the upside during trading on Monday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq showed a particularly strong upward move on the day.

The Nasdaq surged 598.92 points or 2.7 percent to 22,872.01, largely offsetting the steep drop seen last week. The S&P 500 also jumped 102.13 points or 1.6 percent to 6,705.12, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, rising 202.86 points or 0.4 percent to 46,448.27.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly higher on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index inched up by 0.1 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index and China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced by 0.7 percent and 0.9 percent, respectively.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are both up by 0.7 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are tumbling $0.86 to $57.98 a barrel after jumping $0.78 to $58.84 a barrel on Monday. Meanwhile, after climbing $14.70 to $4,094.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $45.80 to $4,140 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 156.16 yen compared to the 156.89 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is trading at $1.1548 compared to yesterday's $1.1520.