U.S. stock index futures were marginally lower during morning trading Tuesday after the major averages started the week in the red as COVID omicron fears hit sentiment.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials eked up two points to 35,545.
Futures for the S&P 500 fell 7.25 points, or 0.2%, to 4,652.25.
Futures for the NASDAQ let go of 67 points, or 0.4%, to 16,014.50.
Tesla shares were among the biggest early droppers on the S&P 500, falling 2.3% pre-market after CEO Elon Musk announced that that he has sold another $906.5 million in shares.
Fellow automaker Ford also fell, down 2.2% following news that by 2030 Toyota would be investing $35 billion into battery-powered electronic vehicles, a space where Ford has sought to establish itself as a leader. Toyota itself declined even more, with shares off 3.4% pre-market.
Pfizer shares rose nearly 1% after final results of tests on its COVID drug showed it reduced hospitalizations and deaths by 89% in high-risk patients.
The market will get fresh inflation data Tuesday when November's producer price index number is reported. Economists are expecting it to show that prices rose 0.5% for the month, according to estimates from Dow Jones. This would be a slight slowdown from October's 0.6% increase.
The Federal Reserve also kicks off its two-day meeting on Tuesday. The central bank will release a statement on Wednesday with quarterly projections for the economy, inflation a
Overseas, markets in Japan gave up 0.7% Tuesday, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 1.3%.
Oil prices slid 36 cents to $70.93 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices stepped backward $4.70 to $1,783.60 U.S. an ounce.