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Wall Street futures were little changed on Tuesday amid a flurry of mixed corporate earnings, as investor focus turned to Big Tech results scheduled later in the day to gauge if the market's recent record-breaking rally has momentum to spare.
With investors returning to megacap growth stocks on Monday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq logged their biggest one-day gain in more than a month, snapping a three-day losing streak triggered by investors exiting megacap tech stocks in favor of underperforming sectors.
Attention now turns to results from tech behemoths, which will be key to determine whether 2024's record rally can be sustained as investors assess whether U.S. stocks are overvalued, or have more room to rise.
Alphabet and Tesla, two of the so-called Magnificent Seven companies, are set to report quarterly results after markets close. In a largely mixed premarket session for the group, their shares were up 0.3% and 1.2%, respectively,
"The consensus seems to be for encouraging figures later, with surveys suggesting investors are expecting earnings results, (not necessarily lower rates from the Fed), to drive the next leg in the equity rally," analysts at ING said in a note.
"On a total return basis, the Magnificent Seven has lost close to 8% this month, tonight's release therefore will have a big say in whether the rally resumes."
Amid a slew of corporate earnings, Spotify Technology leapt 13% after its second-quarter results were broadly in line with analysts' estimates, while General Motors gained 4.6% after beating forecasts for profit and revenue.
United Parcel Service slumped 7.8% after missing earnings estimates on subdued package delivery demand and higher labor-contract costs.
Coca-Cola rose 1.0%, while Comcast gained 2.2% after results.
Of the 74 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results during this earnings season, 81.1% beat expectations, according to LSEG data.
At 7:12 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 34 points, or 0.08%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 4 points, or 0.07%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 4.75 points, or 0.02%.
Economic data scheduled for this week including the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, will be crucial in assessing the monetary policy outlook amid the recent inflation downtrend and signs the labor market is easing.
Bets of a 25-basis-point interest-rate cut by September have shot up to nearly 92%, from nearly 60% last month, according to CME's FedWatch Tool, with two rate cuts expected by the year end.
Among other single movers, NXP Semiconductors slumped 7.9% after the company forecast third-quarter revenue below estimates, as it battles sluggish demand from automotive customers.
Other chip stocks including ON Semiconductor, Texas Instruments and Advanced Micro Devices were also down between 0.7% and 2.5%.
AI chip firm Nvidia edged 0.4% lower after logging its steepest one-day gain in nearly a month in Monday's session.
Shares of Trump Media & Technology Group slipped 3.1% after a choppy session on Monday following U.S. President Joe Biden's withdrawal from the Democratic ticket and as Vice President Kamala Harris become the party's presumed nominee.
(Reporting by Ankika Biswas and Lisa Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Pooja Desai)