Investing.com - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply lower open on Tuesday, a day after U.S. stocks posted steep declines as a rally in U.S. bond yields and a slide in Apple shares rattled investors.
The blue-chip Dow futures fell 160 points or 0.60% by 06:25 AM ET (11:26 GMT), the S&P 500 futures lost 11.75 points or 0.42%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 29 points or 0.43%.
U.S. stocks backed away from record highs on Monday, with the Dow and S&P 500 posting their largest one-day percentage declines in around five months as a rise in the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield sparked concerns that higher interest rates could quench the bull market.
It was set to be a busy day for corporate earnings, with big names such as McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) due to report ahead of the opening bell. Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ:AMD) and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:EA) results were due after the close.
Investors were also turning their attention to U.S. President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech, due later on Tuesday, and a Federal Reserve policy meeting.
Market participants were looking to Trump's State of the Union speech for anything further he might have to say about the dollar. The president was also expected to outline his much-anticipated infrastructure plan in the speech.
The focus was also on the Fed, which was to begin its two-day policy meeting later in the day. While the Fed was not expected to make any changes to monetary policy the meeting was the last time Janet Yellen would serve as Fed chair before the role is taken over by Jerome Powell.
On the data front, the S&P Case/Schiller home price index was due to be released at 09:00 AM ET (14:00GMT), followed by the CB consumer confidence report at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT).