Lower Open Likely For US Markets; Oil High

Lower open likely for U.S markets Tuesday after key U.S. stock index futures looked down in the morning.

At 03:10 a.m. ET, Dow Jones was down 47 points hinting a lower open of around 60 points. Futures at Nasdaq and S&P 500 were also lower.

Market participants are awaiting corporate results that will start rolling from Friday. J.P. Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo will report their latest earnings on Friday.

Anxiety over the trends in U.S. earnings has knocked many U.S. equities sessions even as the strong jobs report added some relief.

At the data front, Tuesday will see NFIB small business optimism index numbers and Labor Department’s JOLTS report on monthly job openings.

At the earnings front, Levi Strauss will report its earnings in the aftermath of its initial public offering.

Oil hits record high

Meanwhile, oil prices zoomed to a five-month high above $71 a barrel on Tuesday, as Libya conflict threatened to squeeze supply further.

The OPEC cuts on production and U.S. sanctions on Iran and Venezuela are already choking supply volumes.

Brent, the global benchmark jumped to $71.34 a barrel, and by 0825 GMT, it settled to $71.24.

“Libya’s oil production and exports have not been jeopardized but the rise in tension is enough to send oil prices higher,” commented Tamas Varga from oil broker PVM.

Asia stocks high

Asian stocks traded higher on Tuesday as investors watched new developments including the conflict in Libya.

In China, the Shanghai composite slipped 0.16 percent while the Shenzhen component rose 0.82 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.17 percent in the last leg of the trade. The MSCI Asia minus Japan index was 0.31 percent higher as of 3:37 p.m.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 0.19 percent higher, while the Topix index slipped marginally. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 0.13 percent. In Australia, the ASX 200 closed largely flat.

Gold up

Gold prices jumped Tuesday as the dollar eased on weak U.S. economic data, with the yellow metal drawing support from higher oil prices.

Spot gold jumped 0.3 percent at $1,300.47 per ounce, as of 0753 GMT. U.S. gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,303 an ounce. The spurt in gold price is aligned to multiple factors.

“The dollar is not able to sustain above the 97 levels and gold is also getting support from rising crude oil prices, ” commented Renisha Chainani of Monarch Networth Capital in Ahmedabad, India.