MW: U.S. stock futures hold steady amid bank strength worries
GDP revision, house-price data to come
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures held steady on Tuesday as worries about bank capital and the outlook for the economy and interest rates kept traders on the sidelines.
S&P 500 futures rose 1.7 points to 1,105.50 while Nasdaq 100 futures fell a half point to 1,790.7. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6 points.
U.S. stocks climbed on Monday as St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said the central bank should consider making mortgage-backed securities purchases even after a program is due to expire. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 132 points, the Nasdaq Composite added 29 points and the S&P 500 climbed 14 points.
But Tuesday's focus turned to bank health. The Shanghai Composite slumped 3.5% as China's banking regulator warned the nation's lenders to strictly comply with capital requirements or face sanctions.
Also getting attention was a report from Standard & Poor's, released Monday, which said that bank capital strength varies widely under its new methodology. U.S. banks are close to the global average but with a wide variation, the report said.
The economic docket will feature mostly backwards-looking releases, notably a second look at third-quarter GDP, which is expected to show that growth was 2.8% rather than 3.5%, which was first reported.
"The data on net exports, business inventories, and consumption spending proved significantly smaller than the commerce department originally anticipated," said economists from BNP Paribas. The first estimate of third-quarter corporate profits also will be released.
Two house prices gauges for September will be released -- one from Case-Shiller, the other from the FHFA -- and November consumer confidence data also is on tap.
And at 2 p.m. Eastern, minutes from the last Federal Reserve interest-rate setting meeting will be unveiled.
Jan Hartzius, an economist at Goldman Sachs, said he's looking for the minutes to shed light on the likelihood of further asset purchases, the commitment the central bank has toward low interest rates and the Fed's view on growth, unemployment and inflation.
On the corporate side, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 51.02, +0.98, +1.96%) will be in the spotlight after the computer maker reported a 14% profit rise. H-P had already given an indication on its quarterly performance when it reached a deal to buy 3Com for $2.7 billion.
Analog Devices (ADI 27.94, +0.46, +1.67%) also may be active after reporting that order rates accelerated in its fiscal fourth quarter. The chip maker's profit dropped 27%.
Tuesday's slate of results are due from firms including Hormel Foods (HRL 38.89, +0.60, +1.57%) , H.J. Heinz (HNZ 43.17, +0.94, +2.23%) and Warner Music Group (WMG 7.06, +0.26, +3.82%) .
In Europe, stocks were a bit weaker, with the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 losing 0.2% as banks fell.
The dollar fell vs. the Japanese yen and rose against the euro, moves that are typically associated with increased risk aversion.
Gold futures tacked on another $6 an ounce while oil futures were virtually steady.
Yields on 10-year Treasury bonds fell 1 basis point to 3.35%.