US stocks start on front foot as attention turns to Fed chief

9.40am: US stocks head north at open US stocks started on the front foot on Tuesday with tech firms, recently under pressure, leading the way. On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average started up over 29 points at 27,176. The broader S&P 500 added over 15 points at 3,296.  The Nasdaq index gained over 78 points at 10,857. On Monday, US benchmark indices headed south due to fears on renewed lockdowns in Europe due to COVID-19 along with the stalemate in Congress over another coronavirus-response bill. Commentators reckon US markets will see much uncertainty and volatility right up now until the Presidential election on November 3. Eyes today are on Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell as he makes the first of three appearances  before the House of Representatives this week to respond to questions about emergency measures the central bank has taken to help the US economy amid the crisis. 8.00am: Big day ahead for some US indices look set to rally on Tuesday following sharp falls in the previous session amid global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic escalations and on domestic political uncertainty, with all eyes today on Federal Reserve boss Jerome Powell and Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Spread betting quotes point to the Dow Jones Industrials Average rising by around 27 points to 27,175 having plunged 510 points or 1.8% on Monday. The S&P 500 index is expected to open 12 points higher at 3,293 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is seen starting 299 points stronger at 11,078, ahead of the eagerly anticipated “battery day” presentation by electric cars maker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), albeit due after the market closes. Later today, the Fed chairman will appear alongside US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin before a House committee to discuss unspent credit facilities. Powell has already released a statement ahead of his appearance before the House Financial Services Committee saying the US economy would “recover fully from this difficult period”, adding the caveat that more fiscal stimulus would hurry things along some. "Economic activity has picked up from its depressed second-quarter level, when much of the economy was shut down to stem the spread of the virus. Many economic indicators show marked improvement. "Both employment and overall economic activity, however, remain well below their pre-pandemic levels, and the path ahead continues to be highly uncertain," the Fed boss said. Craig Erlam, senior market analyst, UK & EMEA at OANDA commented: “With the Fed having done an extraordinary job in stabilizing the financial system and providing huge amounts of monetary stimulus, even adjusting its framework last month to allow rates to remain lower for longer, emphasis will likely fall on fiscal measures, or lack thereof. “Powell has repeatedly called for more stimulus to support the recovery but Congress has failed to find a compromise and hopes for a deal before the election are fading fast. That will leave households and businesses without support going into a troublesome winter period and could come with significant economic consequences.” Five things to watch on Tuesday: Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell appears before the House of representatives’ Financial Services Committee at 10.30am Eastern Time US existing home sales August data on due at 10.00am Eastern Time Tesla Inc. shares down 3% in premarket trade ahead of the company’s “battery day” event after chief executive Elon Musk aimed to tone down expectations ahead of the event, tweeting late Monday that the products set to be unveiled “will not reach serious high-volume production until 2022” Amazon.com Inc. upgraded to outperform from market perform by analysts at Bernstein China is unlikely to approve an “unfair” deal Oracle Corp and Walmart Inc said they have struck with ByteDance over the future of video-streaming app TikTok, the country’s state-backed Global Times newspaper said in an editorial