Editor’s Note: The future prices of benchmark tracking ETFs, the lede, and the latest economic releases were updated in the story.
U.S. stock futures tumbled on Tuesday following Monday’s lower close. Futures of major benchmark indices were lower.
While durable-goods orders in July fell by 9.3%, the decline was smaller than the 10.4% drop that had been forecasted. This follows a significant 16.5% increase in orders back in June.
The futures decline followed President Donald Trump‘s firing of Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, on Monday.
Cook was removed from her position, citing what Trump referred to as “deceitful and potentially criminal conduct” based on a “criminal referral” from William J. Pulte, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to U.S. Attorney General Pamela Bondi earlier this month.
However, according to a New York Times report, in a statement released through her attorney on Monday evening, Cook said that “no cause exists under the law” for Trump to fire her. “I will not resign,” she said. “I will continue to carry out my duties to help the American economy as I have been doing since 2022.”
Investors always await Nvidia Corp. NVDA second-quarter earnings, scheduled to be released on Wednesday after market close.
Meanwhile, the 10-year Treasury bond yielded 4.30% and the two-year bond was at 3.71%. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool‘s projections show that markets are pricing an 84.3% likelihood of the Federal Reserve cutting the current interest rates for the Sept. 17 decision.
| Futures | Change (+/-) |
| Dow Jones | -0.15% |
| S&P 500 | -0.10% |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.11% |
| Russell 2000 | -0.23% |
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF QQQ, which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, fell in premarket on Tuesday. The SPY was down 0.15% at $641.48, while the QQQ declined 0.14% to $569.52, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Cues From Last Session
With most sectors on the S&P 500 closing on a negative note, consumer staples, health care, and utilities stocks recorded the biggest losses on Monday. However, communication services and energy stocks bucked the overall market trend, closing the session higher.
U.S. stocks settled lower overall as investors paused to reassess a sharp move higher, spurred by dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that rekindled hopes for a September rate cut.
Nvidia shares gained 1% on Monday, as investors remained upbeat ahead of the company’s highly anticipated earnings release this week. PDD Holdings Inc. PDD also reported upbeat fiscal second-quarter 2025 results.
On the economic data front, sales of new single-family homes in the U.S. fell by 0.6% to an annualized rate of 652,000 units in July following a revised 4.1% gain in the previous period. The Chicago Fed National Activity Index declined to -0.19 in July versus a revised reading of -0.18 in June.
The Dow Jones index ended 349 points or 0.77% lower at 45,282.47, whereas the S&P 500 index fell 0.43% to 6,439.32. Nasdaq Composite declined 0.22% to 21,449.29, and the small-cap gauge, Russell 2000, tumbled 0.96% to end at 2,339.17.
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -0.22% | 21,449.29 |
| S&P 500 | -0.43% | 6,439.32 |
| Dow Jones | -0.77% | 45,282.47 |
| Russell 2000 | -0.96% | 2,339.17 |
Insights From Analysts
Markets are looking to a slate of key economic data this week, with the main event being Nvidia’s earnings and Friday’s release of the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index, for July.
Expectations are for personal income and spending to show solid gains for July, with Bill Adams, the chief economist at Comerica, forecasting a 0.6% rise for both metrics.
The headline PCE Price Index is anticipated to rise modestly, benefiting from softer food and gasoline prices. However, the core PCE index, which strips out these volatile components, is expected to have accelerated, with Comerica predicting a 0.4% monthly increase and a rise to 3.0% year-over-year. This divergence will be closely watched by the Fed as it assesses underlying inflation trends.
Further clouding the picture, consumer confidence for August is expected to have eased, though inflation expectations from households remain high.
On Thursday, the second estimate for the second-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is likely to be revised higher, from 3.0% to as much as 3.2%, primarily due to stronger consumer spending.
According to Jeffrey Roach, the chief economist, and Lawrence Gillum, chief fixed income strategist, LPL’s Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation Committee (STAAC) is maintaining a tactical neutral stance on equities.
Investors are advised to prepare for “occasional bouts of volatility” stemming from optimistic stock valuations, persistent tariff and inflation risks, and historical seasonal weakness. LPL Research currently advises against increasing portfolio risk beyond established benchmark targets.
Analysts anticipate that volatility across fixed income markets may persist. This is driven by uncertainty around monetary policy, political pressure on the Federal Reserve, and the ongoing reduction of the Fed’s balance sheet.
The STAAC holds a neutral position in core bonds, with a slight preference for mortgage-backed securities (MBS) over investment-grade corporate bonds. The committee does not believe it is attractive to add duration (interest rate sensitivity) at current levels.
See Also: How to Trade Futures
Upcoming Economic Data
Here’s what investors will be keeping an eye on Tuesday;
- July’s durable goods orders fell by 9.3%, better than the forecasted 10.4% fall, down from 16.5% rise in durable goods orders in June.
- June’s S&P Case-Shiller home price index for 20 cities will be announced at 9:00 a.m., and August’s consumer confidence data will be out by 10:00 a.m. ET.
Stocks In Focus
- PVH Corp. PVH slipped 0.37% in premarket on Tuesday as it is expected to report earnings after the closing bell. Analysts estimate earnings of $2.00 per share on revenue of $2.12 billion.
- Okta Inc. OKTA was up 1.03% as it is expected to report earnings after the closing bell. Analysts estimate earnings of 84 cents per share on revenue of $712.01 million.
- Semtech Corp. SMTC was 0.49% higher after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter financial results after the market closed on Monday.
- Interactive Brokers Group Inc. IBKR jumped 2.05% after the S&P Dow Jones Indices announced late Monday that it would join the benchmark index.
- Robinhood Markets Inc. HOOD was 0.82% lower as investors expected this stock to be included in the S&P 500 index.
- Netflix Inc. NFLX was up 0.22% after it secured the exclusive streaming rights for the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Japan, marking its first live sports event in the country.
- Alphabet Inc. GOOG shares fell 0.17% after hitting a fresh all-time high on Monday, buoyed by a string of positive developments in its artificial intelligence and cloud computing divisions, coupled with a favorable macroeconomic environment.
Commodities, Gold, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil futures were trading lower in the early New York session by 1.20% to hover around $64.02 per barrel.
Gold Spot US Dollar rose 0.28% to hover around $3,375.22 per ounce. Its last record high stood at $3,500.33 per ounce. The U.S. Dollar Index spot was 0.10% lower at the 98.3310 level.
Asian markets ended lower on Monday, as India’s S&P BSE Sensex, Australia’s ASX 200, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, Japan’s Nikkei 225, South Korea’s Kospi, and China’s CSI 300 indices fell. European markets were also lower in early trade.
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