US stock futures meandered on Tuesday morning as uncertainty around the war in Iran, the bond market, and the Fed's next interest rate move largely kept buyers on the sidelines.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( YM=F ) and S&P 500 ( ES=F ) fell about 0.5%, while Nasdaq-100 (NQ=F) contracts dipped 0.8% after stocks closed August with solid gains.
Stocks entered September with double-digit year-to-date returns and earnings expectations that continue to rise. However, volatile oil prices and the potential return of Fed rate hikes have given investors reason to worry heading into the historically weakest month for stocks.
Crude oil prices remained elevated after the US and Iran returned to a hot war on Sunday, with Brent futures (BZ=F), the global benchmark, trading near $90 per barrel. Treasury yields have also stayed high, with the 10-year yield (^TNX) rising to 4.75%.
On Tuesday, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) will kick off a string of labor market updates this week, offering a look at hiring and quits ahead of the monthly jobs report on Friday. Data releases from S&P Global and the Institute for Supply Management will also give insight into manufacturing activity.
The gush of second quarter earnings reports may have slowed to a trickle, but releases from Dell (DELL) and Palo Alto Networks ( PANW ) will give insight into how big corporations are spending money on tech and cloud services.
