FX.co ★ U.S. Stocks May Move To The Downside Amid Economic Worries

Following a mixed performance in the previous session, stocks are expected to trend mostly lower in early trading on Tuesday. Futures for the major indices currently indicate initial weakness on Wall Street, with S&P 500 futures down by 0.3 percent.

Concerns regarding the U.S. economic outlook are likely to weigh on markets following disappointing manufacturing data from yesterday.

Although economic weakness could lead the Federal Reserve to consider lowering interest rates in the coming months, the central bank has indicated it plans to maintain higher rates until there is more pronounced evidence of slowing inflation.

A potential combination of a significant economic slowdown and high interest rates could trouble stocks that have recently achieved record levels.

On Friday, the Labor Department will release its closely watched monthly jobs report, which could significantly influence economic and interest rate outlooks.

Economists predict the report will show a rise of 190,000 jobs in May, following a gain of 175,000 jobs in April, with the unemployment rate expected to remain at 3.9 percent.

Shortly after the market opens, the Commerce Department will release its report on new orders for manufactured goods in April. Factory orders are expected to have increased by 0.6 percent in April after a 1.6 percent jump in March.

Additionally, the Labor Department will also release its report on job openings for April. Job openings are expected to decrease to 8.340 million from 8.488 million in March.

On Monday, U.S. stocks began positively but retreated into negative territory before recovering in afternoon trading and ending the session mixed.

The Nasdaq outperformed, closing at 16,828.67 with a gain of 93.65 points or 0.6 percent. The S&P 500 edged up 5.89 points or 0.1 percent to 5,283.40, while the Dow fell 115.29 points or 0.3 percent to 38,571.03.

Globally, stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region showed mixed performance on Tuesday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index dipped by 0.2 percent, whereas China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4 percent.

In Europe, major markets have all moved lower for the day. The German DAX Index has slid by 0.6 percent, and both the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are down by 0.3 percent.

Commodities trading indicates that crude oil futures are slumping $1.15 to $73.07 a barrel after a $2.77 drop to $74.22 a barrel on Monday. Gold futures, which jumped $23.50 to $2,369.30 an ounce in the previous session, are now falling $15 to $2,354.30 an ounce.

In currency trading, the U.S. dollar is at 154.82 yen, down from 156.08 yen at Monday's New York close. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0865, down from $1.0904 yesterday.