() - The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday, with sentiment reflecting caution amid a lack of catalysts. After seeing some strength in the Asian session, the dollar is weakening and consequently, commodity prices are moving back to the upside. However, given that uncertainty the economic outlook and the overbought levels of the markets, we may see some consolidation around current levels.

U.S. stocks meandered to a mixed close on Monday’s session amid a lack of any major catalysts. Nevertheless, the fact that the major averages held up fairly well despite trading at overbought levels is testimony to the market’s resilience.

The major averages opened lower and the Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 Index continued to languish in negative territory thereafter before closing lower. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite was seen moving back and forth across the unchanged line throughout the session the session before closing slightly higher.

The Dow Industrials ended down 37.24 points or 0.33% at 11,407 and the S&P 500 Index receded 2.60 points or 0.21% to close at 1,223, while the Nasdaq Composite Index added 1.07 points or 0.04% at the close of trading to finish at 2,580.

Twenty-two of the thirty Dow components closed lower, with Travelers Co. (TRV), JP Morgan Chase, Home Depot (HD) and Boeing (BA) leadingh the declines. On the other hand, Bank of America (BAC) rallied 1.94% and Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) rose 1.21%.

Among the sector indexes, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index rose 1.20% and the NYSE Arca Gold Bug Index jumped 3.27%.

Currency, Commodity Markets

Crude oil futures are receding $0.32 to $87.38 a barrel after advancing $0.21 to $87.06 a barrel on Monday. Gold futures are rising $11.70 to $1,414.90 an ounce. In the previous session, the precious metal jumped $5.50 to $1403.20 an ounce.

Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 80.617 yen compared to the 81.1773 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3926 compared to yesterday’s $1.392.

Asia

The major Asian stocks closed lower on Tuesday, as the euphoria over the Fed’s quantitative easing faded and a rebound in the dollar index dragged down base metal and oil prices. Caution ahead of this week’s Group of 20 meeting in South Korea also weighed on sentiment to some extent. The Japanese market fell modestly, as investors locked in some gains after a recent rally that took the Nikkei to a three-month closing high in the previous session. The Nikkei 225 average lost 38.43 points or 0.39% to end at 9,695.

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