(MENAFN– ecpulse) Investors look wary of pushing the stock market bull amid concerns that the Federal Reserve may start tapering its asset purchases program sooner than expected as the economy improves.
U.S. stocks slipped Monday as disappointing Black Friday sales weighed on retailers, and an upbeat manufacturing report revived talk that the Federal Reserve could begin scaling back its massive stimulus program as early as this month.
Investors look forward to reports on third quarter U.S. economy growth and the jobs report later in the week to assess the economy’s condition for clues regarding the Federal Reserve’s future course for monetary policy.
A strong report on the U.S. manufacturing sector out on Monday stirred fears the reduction in bond buys could come as early as at the December meeting.
U.S. stock futures were mixed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 slipping 0.1% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ little changed.
-Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.356% to 15941
-Futures on the S&P 500 index lost 0.272% to 1794.80
-Futures on the NASDAQ 100 composite lost 0.151% to 3477.75 . As of 06:10 a.m. ET
The S&P has managed to snatch gains in December for 24 of the past 30 years, but with the index up 27% so far in 2013 investors may be thinking more about taking profits.
European markets were tracking Wall Street lower in morning trading, with France`s CAC 40 leading the way with a loss of 1.1%.
Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan`s Nikkei advancing 0.6% as the yen weakened. Shares in Shanghai joined the rally, adding 0.6% while Hong Kong`s Hang Seng declined by 0.5%.
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