Investing.com-- U.S. stock index futures traded largely higher Tuesday, maintaining recent bullish optimism ahead of more corporate earnings and upcoming Fed speakers this week.
At 06:40 ET (10:40 GMT), Dow Jones Futures gained 55 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 Futures gained 3 points, or 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 Futures fell 25 points, or 0.1%.
Wall Street registered three straight days of gains on Monday. with the S&P 500 rising 1%, the NASDAQ Composite adding 1.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing up 0.5%.
Fed needs more confidence in easing inflation
While softer-than-expected payrolls data pushed up optimism over some cooling in the labor market, Fed officials said on Monday that the central bank will need more confidence that inflation was easing before it can cut interest rates.
Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin said that current monetary policy was restrictive enough to eventually bring inflation within the Fed’s 2% annual target, while relative strength in the job market will give the bank enough headroom to wait until this happens.
New York Fed President John Williams also said that current monetary conditions were adequate to bring down inflation.
Investors have increased their bets on a September rate cut, with the CME Fedwatch tool showing traders pricing in a 48% chance for a 25 basis point reduction in September.
More central bank officials are also set to speak this week, with an address from Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari due on Tuesday.
Inflation remained the biggest point of contention for the Fed in considering rate cuts, given that price pressures grew more than expected through the first quarter and remained well above the Fed's 2% annual target.
Disney earnings lead the results slate
The first quarter earnings season is also set to carry on this week, with earnings from media giant Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) Tuesday's highlight.
Oil and gas majors Duke Energy Corporation (NYSE:DUK) and Occidental Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:OXY) as well as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) spinoff Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE) are also due to release their numbers this session.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will also be in the spotlight after the Wall Street Journal reported the tech giant is developing its own chip to run artificial intelligence software in data centers, citing people familiar with the matter.
Apple, which has been falling behind its competitors on AI, has been evading questions about its plans for the technology.
Middle East ceasefire talks in focus
Crude prices edged lower amid uncertainty over the likelihood of a ceasefire in the important oil-rich Middle East.
By 06:40 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% lower at $78.20 a barrel, while the Brent contract dropped 0.3% to $83.05 per barrel.
Palestinian militant group Hamas on Monday agreed to a Gaza ceasefire proposal from mediators, but Israel launched strikes on the city of Rafah in Southern Gaza after saying the terms did not meet its demands.
A lack of settlement between the parties in the now seven-month long conflict has supported oil prices, as investors worry regional escalation of the war will disrupt Middle Eastern crude supplies.
That said, the benchmarks posted the steepest weekly losses in three months last week as investors worried about the prospect of higher-for-longer interest rates curbing growth in the U.S., the top global oil consumer.
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