By Ed Ballard

A dripfeed of economic data and a telephone call between President Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin might set the tone for the U.S. trading day.

Stocks are on course to open marginally lower after rallying again Monday, helped by the absence of trade drama. Worries about the economic impact of Trump's tariffs previously pushed the S&P 500 into correction territory.

Data on industrial production, building permits and housing starts are all due Tuesday, ahead of the centerpiece of the week's economic calendar, the Federal Reserve's interest-rate decision, on Wednesday.

Meantime, Trump's push for a rapid end to the war in Ukraine will continue when he speaks to Putin. His stance on the conflict has spurred a rearmament drive in Europe, where stocks rose Tuesday ahead of a vote on defense spending in Germany's parliament.

In addition, Nvidia's flagship AI conference is in the spotlight. Chief Executive Jensen Huang is due to give his keynote speech at 1 p.m. ET, at which he is expected to showcase the latest version of Nvidia's Blackwell AI chips.

In recent trading:

-- Nasdaq-100 futures fell modestly. Contracts tied to the Dow industrials and S&P 500 crept lower.

-- Benchmark Treasury yields wavered, after settling Monday at 4.307%.

-- Gold contracts rose further above $3,000 a troy ounce.

-- Bitcoin prices stood at around $83,000.

-- Brent crude prices rose in the wake of U.S. strikes on Yemen's Houthi and Israeli attacks on Gaza.

This item is part of a Wall Street Journal live coverage event. The full stream can be found by searching P/WSJL (WSJ Live Coverage).

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 18, 2025 07:22 ET (11:22 GMT)

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