U.S. stock index futures were largely muted on Tuesday, as investors awaited comments from a host of Federal Reserve officials for clues on the monetary policy path, while Zscaler shares declined following the company's quarterly update.
Wall Street ended lower on Monday with investors taking a post-Thanksgiving pause, though all three major indexes remained on course for monthly gains, snapping three straight months of losses, on growing rate cut optimism.
The rebound in equities in November has brought the S&P 500 within a very close range of its 2023 intra-day high.
Multiple policy voting members are scheduled to speak during the day, including Board Governors Christopher Waller and Michelle Bowman. Market participants will closely monitor for any cues on the interest rate path, as focus shifts to the likely timing of a rate cut.
Money markets have almost fully priced in a pause in rate-hikes at the December meeting, with expectations of at least a 25-basis point rate cut in May 2024 standing at nearly 51%, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool.
At 5:32 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 14 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 1.75 points, or 0.04%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 16.25 points, or 0.1%.
"Subdued sentiment is hanging around with investors keeping their powder dry ahead of a key inflation report in the United States, while the impact of elevated interest rates on economies is still being assessed," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.
Personal consumption expenditure data - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - and the "Beige Book", a snapshot of the U.S. economy, are due later this week, which will help investors to assess the economic condition.
On the economic data front, the Conference Board's consumer confidence survey is due for release at 10:00 a.m ET, which is expected to show consumer confidence eased in November.
Shares of Zscaler fell 6.5% before the bell as the cloud security firm's higher operating expenses in the first quarter overshadowed its strong forecast and profit beat.
Boeing added 1.7% after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the aerospace company to "outperform" from "sector perform" and set a street-high price target.
Affirm Holdings gained 2.8%, following its 12% jump in the previous session on Cyber Monday spending boost, and as Jefferies upgraded the payments platform to "hold."
(Reporting by Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
