Nasdaq futures lifted by Big Tech as focus turns to earnings

(Reuters) – Gains in technology stocks kept Nasdaq futures afloat on Tuesday, while futures tracking the Dow and the S&P 500 were pressured by worries of higher inflation and its impact on third-quarter earnings starting this week.

Mega-caps growth names including Microsoft Corp, Facebook Inc, Amazon.com Inc, Google-parent Alphabet and Tesla inched higher in premarket trading.

Tesla rose 0.7% after data showed the electric vehicle maker sold 56,006 China-made vehicles in September, the highest since it started production in Shanghai about two years ago.

Oil firms including Exxon Mobil and Chevron Corp gained 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively, as Brent crude hit a near-three year high on energy crunch fears. [O/R]

Higher oil prices and supply chain disruptions have set off alarm bells for businesses and consumers ahead of the third-quarter reporting season that kicks off on Wednesday with JPMorgan Chase & Co’s results.

“We believe that market participants could stay concerned over high energy prices translating into further acceleration in inflation, and thereby faster tightening by major central banks,” said Charalambos Pissouros, head of research at JFD Group.

Shares of JPMorgan and other major U.S. lenders traded lower.

Analysts expect a 29.6% year-over-year increase in profit for S&P 500 companies in the third quarter, according to IBES data from Refinitiv as of Friday.

At 6:42 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 22 points, or 0.06%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 0.25 points, or 0.01%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 31 points, or 0.21%.

Investors also looked ahead at the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday for clues on taper timeline, while inflation and retail sales data will be scrutinized to gauge the pace of economic recovery.

MGM Resorts International rose 2.2% after Credit Suisse upgraded the U.S. casino operator’s stock to “outperform” from “neutral”.

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