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US shares poised for downbeat start as traders look for reasons to buy

Last updated: 09:06 18 Aug 2015 EDT, First published: 07:06 18 Aug 2015 EDT

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US stocks are poised to go lower at the open

After a positive finish yesterday, US shares are poised to open lower on Tuesday as traders seek a reason to buy equities.

Several factors are in focus, including the weak Chinese market, a fall in commodity prices and uncertainty over what the Fed might do over an interest rate hike ahead of minutes out from the minutes of a July meeting are set to be published tomorrow (Wednesday).

A further clutch of earnings reports, notably from retailers, will also be under the spotlight with Walmart (NYSE:WMT), the owner of Asda, reporting quarterlies, along with Home Depot (NYSE:HD) and Dicks Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS).

Yesterday, upbeat housing data outweighed the negative readings of the Empire State general business index and the benchmark Dow closed 68 points higher at 17,545, while the S&P500 ended 10 points to the good.

But in futures trading on Wall Street the Dow is down 38 points, while the S&P500 lost around five points and the tech heavy Nasdaq  shed 11.75 points.

David Madden, analyst at spreadbetters IG Index, said: "The sentiment surrounding the US futures market has changed, and the concerns over Greece and China are weighing on the market.

"The US market finished on a high note yesterday, but the tone is very different today as the US follows it lead from the Far East and Europe."

The Shanghai Composite Index is down a whopping 246 points at 3,748 as  speculation mounts over what Beijing will do to ease the market crisis after months of volatility.

Greece is also  a worry to investors as the country heads toward sealing  a "lose-lose" bailout package.

Further housing stats for July are due today, which may trigger a change in sentiment.

In pre-market, Home Depot Inc shares slipped almost 20% as it reported second-quarter earnings, which were simply "in line".

The gigantic retailer Wal-Mart Stores shed 0.65% as it is poised to report second-quarter earnings of $1.12 a share, say analysts - lower than last year.

Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) shares are down a shade - 0.28% - despite it reporting a Q2 earnings beat. EPS  was $0.52 a share compared to $0.49 on consensus estimates.

Meanwhile, total net sales for the second quarter of the fiscal 2016 year increased 7% over the same quarter last year to a record $867.5 million.

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