Wall Street poised for gains as a dismal February winds down

Snapping seven straight sessions of losses, Indian stocks rise marginally Tuesday

Wall Street veered toward small gains in premarket trading Tuesday with another batch of earnings on tap to close out a month of losses fueled by anxiety over more interest rate hikes and a possible recession.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrials were up 0.3% before the bell and futures for the S&P 500 rose 0.4%.

Investors are jittery as analysts raise forecasts for how high the Federal Reserve will take interest rates and how long it will keep them there in an attempt to tame inflation that has so far failed to retreat as much as expected.

Economies around the world have remained resilient, with China loosening its business-damaging anti-COVID restrictions and Europe avoiding a worst-case energy crisis.

"As we move into 'Turnaround Tuesday,' investors are debating whether January's inflation reflation was just another temporary bump in the road as the economy adjusts to a post-pandemic world," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a report. "The post-pandemic era continues to deliver unusual macroeconomic patterns."

Stocks have struggled in February after a strong start to the year. Robust economic data helped calm fears that a recession may be imminent given the dampening impact of more costly borrowing on spending by consumers and businesses.