(Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Tuesday as investors awaited earnings reports from a number of companies and the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting that starts later in the day.
At 05:19 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 73 points, or 0.16%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 15.25 points, or 0.24%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 93.25 points, or 0.4%.
The moves follow record closing highs for the S&P and the Nasdaq on Monday in volatile trading after the U.S. struck a trade agreement with the European Union, while the Dow remained just about 200 points short of an all-time high.
The U.S.-EU deal, announced on Sunday, halved EU import tariffs to 15% and bolstered expectations that more such agreements will follow ahead of President Donald Trump’s looming August 1 deadline.
Trump on Monday flagged a ‘world tariff’ of 15-20% for countries that were not negotiating a deal.
Expectations were high for a potential breakthrough in U.S.-China negotiations after officials from both sides met in Stockholm on Monday to resolve longstanding economic disputes as the two economies look to extend a truce by three months.
Tuesday also marks a busy day for corporate earnings, with results expected from top companies such as UnitedHealth, Boeing, UPS and Procter & Gamble before the bell.
Earnings from tech heavyweights Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Apple are scheduled for later this week, which could test Wall Street’s record run.
The U.S. central bank is set to begin its two-day policy meeting later in the day. While the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday, traders will closely analyze policymakers’ remarks to gauge the timing of future moves.
According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in a 61.7% chance of a rate cut in September.
The meetings come amid the White House’s campaign on the central bank to lower borrowing costs, including Trump’s persistent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and occasional suggestions to remove him from his position.
Meanwhile, investors will parse the U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report for June, as well as the consumer confidence figure for July later in the day.
Among earnings-related moves, Cadence Design jumped 6.6% in premarket trading after the chip design software provider raised its annual sales and profit forecast.
(Reporting by Nikhil Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
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