January 21, 2014- Stocks Look to Shake of Two-Day Losing Streak

Early indications suggest that Wall Street stocks may get off to a positive start on Tuesday, thanks to efforts by China to cool its money market rates. The move has spread cheer in Asia, while also ameliorating the negative sentiment generated by insipid earnings in Europe. With little domestic catalysts to drive trading, as the markets open for the week after Monday's public holiday in observance of Martin Luther King's Day, it remains to be seen if the China cheer can sustain the mood throughout the session. Earnings from some blue chips, including Johnson & Johnson, Verizon and Travelers Companies could also drive performance in the markets. The Dow futures are rising 45 points, the S&P 500 futures are adding 3.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures are advancing 13.25 points. U.S. stocks closed mixed in the week ended January 17th, as mixed economic data and earnings led to indecision among traders, causing some volatility. On the economic front, the unfolding holiday shortened week's economic calendar is very light, with only a very few market moving economic reports due for the week. Traders are likely to closely track the jobless claims report and the National Association of Realtors' existing home sales report for December to get some clarity on the economic outlook.