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postUS stock futures tilted lower on Tuesday as investors braced for a pivotal inflation reading and for JPMorgan (JPM) results to kick off the fourth quarter earnings season.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures (YM=F) nudged 0.1% lower, while those on the S&P 500 (ES=F) slipped roughly 0.2%. Contracts on the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 (NQ=F) were also down 0.2%. On Monday, Wall Street stocks eked out fresh record closes as investors largely shrugged off concerns around a US criminal probe into its Chair Jerome Powell.
Markets are now in wait-and-see mode ahead of the latest reading on US consumer inflation, a key input into the Fed’s rate-setting decisions. The December consumer price index is expected to offer the clearest picture of trends in months after the record government shutdown disrupted data reports.
The CPI report, due at 8:30 a.m. ET, is expected to show inflation pressures remained steady last month, with an annual headline rate of 2.7% and a monthly rate of 0.3%.
The data takes on added importance after the December jobs report pointed to a cooling labor market. Traders see a 95% chance that the Fed holds rates steady in January, and are pricing in June for the first of two quarter-point cuts in 2026, per the CME FedWatch Tool.
The watch is also on for JPMorgan Chase to lead out this week’s rush of big bank results before the bell on Tuesday, firing the starting gun on earnings season. Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), and Morgan Stanley (MS) are set to post their fourth quarter reports in the following days.
Meanwhile, global central bankers have joined the likes of Janet Yellen and Alan Greenspan in rushing to condemn the Justice Department’s investigation of Powell, seen as a threat to the Fed’s autonomy. Powell, whose term as Fed chair expires in May, characterized the probe as political pressure from President Trump, who has repeatedly called for aggressive interest-rate cuts.
On another front, Trump said late Monday that countries that continue to do business with Iran will face a 25% US tariff. The vow adds another layer of geopolitical uncertainty to a market already grappling with moves on Venezuela and Greenland, and could threaten the US trade truce with China.
LIVE 10 updates
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BNY CEO weighs in on Trump vs Powell battle
BNY (BNY) CEO Robin Vince on a reporter call I was just on post earnings:
“Independent central banks with the ability to independently set monetary policy in the long term interest of the nation is a pretty well established thing that we’ve seen all around the world over a very long period of time, and its served economies and capital markets really well. And so we see the bond market has been underpinned by a bunch of different things. And the US bond market is really the most important market, arguably, in the world. Secretary Bessent said that on several occasions. And if you look at the things that underpin the US bond market, that independence is one of those things, and so shaking the foundation of it doesn’t seem to be to us to be accomplishing the administration’s primary objective, because the administration greatly is very focused on things like affordability and being able to reduce the cost of borrowing, reducing the cost of mortgages, reducing the cost of everyday living for Americans, and being able to make sure that they’re driving up wages. So sort of questioning one of the tenets that underlies the bond market runs the risk of actually doing the opposite of that and actually pushing up interest rates, because the market potentially has to worry about something that, frankly, they shouldn’t have to worry about.”
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JPMorgan earnings miss as Dimon warns on risks
US investment bank JPMorgan (JPM) posted fourth quarter results on Tuesday that beat revenue estimates but missed earnings expectations, as net income was hit following its deal to take over the Apple Card (AAPL) from Goldman Sachs (GS).
Yahoo Finance’s senior reporter David Hollerith looks at the latest earnings release from JPM.
Read more here.
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Pentagon to invest $1 billion in rocket motor maker L3Harris
Shares in L3Harris Technologies (LHX) surged before the bell on news the US government will invest $1 billion in its rocket motor business.
The move guarantees a steady supply of the much-needed motors used in a wide range of missiles such as Tomahawks and Patriot interceptors.
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
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Delta stock falls despite Q4 earnings beat
Delta Airlines’ (DAL) stock sank 5% before the bell on Tuesday despite posting upbeat Q4 results, as forecast fell below estimates.
The airline company said growth in the premium business and lack of certain headwinds would propel its business forward in 2026.
Yahoo Finance’s senior reporter Pras Subramanian delves into the latest results from Delta.
Read more here.
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Premarket trending tickers: Intel, Revvity, and MP Materials
Intel (INTC) stock rose 3% before the bell on Tuesday. KeyBanc analysts raised their rating on the chipmaker to Overweight from Sector Weight due to strong demand for their central processing units.
Revvity (RVTY) stock climbed 5% during premarket trading on Tuesday after the health company raised its full-year outlook ahead of its earnings release in February.
MP Materials (MP) stock edged higher on Tuesday by 3%, the rare earths company was awarded funding from the US government for a $900 million manufacturing facility last year and experts believe companies like MP could get a boost from the US’s latest move in Venezuela.
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Investors expect less earnings-day volatility, but can still seek opportunities: Goldman Sachs
Investors are expecting a low-volatility earnings season, given softer option volumes over the past two weeks and balanced positioning, according to a Jan. 8 note on tactical earnings trades from the Goldman Sachs Investment Research team.
The analysts estimated the average implied earnings day stock move — how much the market expects a stock to swing following corporate results, based on options data — is 4.5% in either direction, below the long-term average.
“With less fear priced in, it is more difficult to see relief rallies on earnings days,” they wrote.
Eearnin
Still, the Goldman Sachs team noted that having exposure to stocks through their earnings events remains important for fundamental investors. Just two quarters ago, the actual moves on earnings days for individual stocks were at their highest level since 2009.
Where the team does expect more volatility is in utility, healthcare, materials, and industrial stocks, which “have been making the most unusually large moves on earnings-day in recent quarters.”
Get the latest here on Q4 earnings season in Yahoo Finance’s live blog.
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CPI preview: Inflation expected to be muted in December as economic data gets back on track
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for December is set for release Tuesday morning, with the data expected to show inflation pressures remained steady in the final month of 2025.
Yahoo Finance’s Myles Udland takes a look at what to expect and what to watch:
Read more here.
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Gold steadies close to record on worries over Fed’s independence
Gold (GC=F) steadied close to another record on Tuesday, as investors focused on the latest attacks on the Federal Reserve by the Trump administration, which have raised some concerns over the Fed’s independence.
Bloomberg News reports:
Read more here.
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Nvidia walks back statement that Chinese buyers would have to pay for H200 upfront
Reuters reports:
Read more here.
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BlackRock cuts 1% of staff
Bloomberg reports:
Read more here.
