US pre-open: Futures point to a flat start on Wall Street

(Sharecast News) - US stock futures were pointing to a flat start on Tuesday morning, as indices hold on to gains made the previous session, as bond yields continue to fall. In pre-market trade, the S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq were all unchanged after posting increases of 0.6-0.8% on Monday.

The yield on a 10-year Treasury was holding around the 4.21% mark early on, as it continues to retreat after hitting a 15-year high of 4.366% last week.

The retreat in yields follows the culmination of the Federal Reserve's Jackson Hole conference on Saturday, in which Fed chair Jerome Powell assured markets that the central bank would approach with caution in regards to further monetary policy tightening.

Meanwhile, the mood has been helped by newsflow from China, after the government unveiled strategic measures to boost its stock markets, such as a cut in stamp duty and the loosening of margin loan rules. Concerns about a broadening financial crisis in the world's second-largest economy have hit stocks worldwide in recent weeks.

"The market may have been underwhelmed by China's initial efforts to restore confidence, but that doesn't seem to be the case with the latest measures, which have given Chinese and global stocks a real boost," says AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

"Whether the medicine Beijing is doling out will deal with the causes rather than just the symptoms of its economic challenges is debatable, but for the time being it is at least doing enough to restore sentiment."

The only major economic data due for release during Tuesday's session is the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which is expected to have fallen from 117 to 116 in August.

The calendar for the rest of the week is set to pick up, with the ADP Employment Report and GDP figures due on Wednesday, jobless claims on Thursday, and manufacturing data and non-farm payrolls on Friday.

In company news, Verizon was in focus after analysts at Morgan Stanley said the telecom giant could increase its dividend again in September despite negative readacross from sector peers - AT&T reduced its own dividend while Lumen eliminated its payout last year.

Meanwhile, Best Buy, JM Smucker and HP are all due to release their results on Tuesday.