MW: Asia stocks clinch gains after roller-coaster ride
By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures edged lower on Tuesday after a remarkable run, with an earnings wave, housing data and hearings on the future of energy trading in the spotlight.
S&P 500 futures fell 3 points to 976.90 and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 2.25 points to 1,597.20. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 19 points.
U.S. stocks nudged higher on Monday as a rise in new-home sales offset some disappointing results, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 15 points, the Nasdaq Composite rising a point and the S&P 500 adding 2 points.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed ten out of the last 11 sessions.
The commodity sector will be in the spotlight as a series of hearings from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission are due to start. According to The Wall Street Journal, the CFTC will issue a report next month saying speculators played a significant role in driving swings in oil prices.
BP (BP 51.34, +0.69, +1.36%) has been on the receiving end of those swings, as it reported a 53% drop in second-quarter profit as oil prices slumped. Valero Energy (VLO 18.77, +0.46, +2.51%) also is due to report results.
Oil futures rose 10 cents to $68.48 a barrel.
Also in focus will be the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for May, due at 9 a.m., and Conference Board consumer confidence data for July, due at 10 a.m. And the U.S. Treasury is selling $42 billion in two-year notes.
Earnings are due from firms including Coach (COH 28.43, -0.88, -3.00%) , Interpublic Group (IPG 6.19, -0.11, -1.75%) , Textron (TXT 11.15, -0.16, -1.41%) , U.S. Steel (X 41.27, +0.55, +1.35%) and Viacom (VIA 25.60, +0.14, +0.55%) .
Shares in Deutsche Bank (DB 73.88, +0.97, +1.33%) dropped 7% as strong growth in the bank's bottom line wasn't enough to offset worries over rising bad debt charges and a disappointing performance in debt trading.
But BBVA (BBV 14.68, +0.33, +2.30%) rose 4% after the Spanish bank reported a stronger-than-forecast profit rise.
Amgen (AMGN 60.77, -0.15, -0.25%) rose 3% in Frankfurt after upping its earnings guidance and partnering with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK 38.65, +0.37, +0.97%) to sell a new bone drug.
Overseas, stocks in Europe wavered between gains and losses, while the Hang Seng ended at a fresh 10-month high.
Other asset classes were showing less appetite for risk.
The dollar dropped 0.6% to 94.63 yen, while yields on 10-year Treasury bonds fell 2 basis points to 3.71%. Bonds move in the opposite direction to prices.
