Stocks poised to tumble
Futures sink ahead of batch of economic readings, including existing home, auto sales.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to extend their previous session losses Tuesday, ahead of a slew of economic reports and amid worries about how quickly markets have risen in recent months.
At 8:12 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, Nasdaq 100 and Standard & Poor's 500 futures were modestly lower.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
Stocks tumbled Monday after another rout in Chinese stocks triggered a flight to safety worldwide. The Dow lost 0.5%, the S&P 500 fell 0.8%, while the Nasdaq composite shed about 0.9%.
Investors have been bracing for a possible pullback following a surprisingly strong summer advance. And some traders suggested that the recent market movement might indicate the beginning of a selloff period, or at least sideways movement.
"September historically has been a very tough month for the market," said Ryan Larson, head of equity trading at Voyager Asset Management. "I think people have in the back of their mind that it might be time to take money off the table."
Economy: Clouding investors' position will be a series of economic reports due out later Tuesday, including a 10 a.m. ET report on existing home sales.
A survey on nationwide manufacturing activity is due out then, as is a report on construction spending. Auto sales follow at noon ET.
The most closely watched reading however, will come later this week when the government releases its monthly employment report on Friday.
Companies: Stocks to watch include eBay (EBAY, Fortune 500), which has reached a deal to sell its Skype Internet phone calling unit, according to a report in the New York Times.
In other corporate news, Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) is reportedly looking to repay a portion of the $45 billion in taxpayer aid it received from the U.S. government, according to the Wall Street Journal.
World markets: Asian stocks rebounded and ended the session with modest gains. But in Europe, major markets were over 1% lower in midday trading.
The dollar was little changed against the yen, while it gained against the euro.
And crude prices rebounded a bit after declining more than 4% in Monday trading, gaining 7 cents to $70.03 a barrel in pre-market trading.
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