Wall St to open lower with Greece in focus
Stocks were poised for a lower open on Tuesday, indicating equities may fall for a second consecutive session, as talks to secure a new bailout for Greece and avoid an unruly default had yet to produce definitive results.
Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos negotiated through most of the night with lenders from the European Union and International Monetary Fund over more fiscal reforms as trade unions staged a national strike against more cuts.
A Greek government official said the nation is preparing the text of an agreement on a 130-billion euro bailout that must be put to political leaders for approval, suggesting Athens had neared completion of talks with lenders.
Markets would love to see some certainty, and we don't have any of that at the moment, said Frank Lesh, a futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading LLC in Chicago.
On the equities side, we've come a long way, and we are getting into overbought territory, so most of us are expecting a bit of a pullback or a period of consolidation - the depth of the pullback really depends on Greece and the European debt problems.
A disorderly Greece debt default could lead to increased fiscal problems for weaker members of the euro zone and dampen the U.S. recovery.
European shares fell on the Greece talks and after disappointing results from investment bank UBS AG
The benchmark S&P index had risen for five straight weeks on the back of improving U.S. economic data, punctuated by the Friday payrolls report, to lift the index up almost 7 percent for the year. A light economic calendar this week has shifted investor focus back to the euro zone.
S&P 500 futures fell 3.5 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 5 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 5.5 points.
Coca-Cola Co
As earnings season winds down, investors awaited results from companies including Lincoln National Corp
Emerson Electric Co
According to Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning, of the 301 companies in the S&P 500 posting results, 60 percent topped expectations, tracking below recent quarters at this point of the reporting season.
UBS predicted more weakness in investment banking after a restructuring of the business failed to prevent an earnings hit from the euro-zone debt crisis and worries about the global economy. Shares dipped 1.2 percent to $14.20 in New York premarket trade.
ArcelorMittal
Toyota Motor Co
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is set to testify before the Senate Budget Committee in Washington, D.C., at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT).
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
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