US equity futures were mixed before the open Tuesday as traders await a key inflation report and quarterly earnings of some of Wall Street's largest banks.
The S&P 500 edged down 0.1% and the Nasdaq added 0.4% in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%. The three main indexes finished the previous trading session lower.
The official US consumer price index report for June is scheduled for an 8:30 am ET release. Data are expected to show that consumer inflation dropped 0.1% last month sequentially and rose 3.8% annually, according to a Bloomberg-compiled consensus. The Street is projecting core CPI, which excludes volatile items such as food and energy, to rise 0.2% month over month and 2.9% annually.
Tuesday's main corporate earnings include those from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Goldman Sachs (GS), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Citigroup (C).
West Texas Intermediate crude oil was up 3.1% at $80.57 a barrel before the opening bell, while Brent gained 4.2% to $86.82.
On Monday, President Donald Trump said the US was reinstating a blockade of Iranian shipping through the Strait of Hormuz amid growing tensions in the Middle East.
Hostilities between the US and Iran resumed recently, weeks after they signed a memorandum of understanding to end their war that began at the end of February.
"Clearly, the risk is that this escalates to levels seen early in the war, where neighboring countries and their energy infrastructure are also targeted," ING Bank said in a report. "Escalation has slowed vessels transiting the strait to a trickle, renewing concerns over oil supply tightness through the third quarter."
US Treasury yields were up in premarket action, with the two- and 10-year rates increasing one basis point each to 4.27% and 4.62%, respectively.
Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh is set to testify before the House Financial Services Committee at 10 am Tuesday, as part of his legal requirement to appear before Congress twice a year. He will speak before the Senate Banking Committee Wednesday.
Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman is also slated to speak Tuesday, along with other central bank officials, including Michael Barr, Lisa Cook and Austan Goolsbee.
On Monday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller the central bank may have to consider raising interest rates if inflation remains high.
There's a 61% likelihood that the Fed will keep its monetary policy unchanged later this month, up from 58% on Monday, according to the CME FedWatch tool. The odds of a 25-basis-point rate increase moved to 39% from 42%.
SK Hynix's (SKHY, SKHYV) US-listed stock climbed 6.9% pre-bell after the South Korean chipmaker closed Monday with a 9.3% drop. SpaceX (SPCX) edged down 0.3% following a 4.2% decline at the end of the previous session. Oracle (ORCL) was down 1.9% early Tuesday, following a 6.5% fall at Monday close.
Gold inclined 0.5% to $4,026 per troy ounce, while bitcoin rose 0.9% to $62,624.
