NEW YORK -- Stocks are looking for direction Tuesday after another late-day plunge sent the Dow Jones industrial average to its lowest level in seven months. Stock futures rose slightly.
Sharp swings over the final hour of trading have become the norm in the market over the past month as investors remain concerned about what news might come out of Europe overnight about ongoing debt problems. The end-of-day moves are similar to the ones seen in late 2008 during the height of the credit crisis when investors feared holding onto stocks overnight.
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said late Monday that European leaders were taking the right steps to control rising deficits, but that wasn't enough to assuage concerned traders. Major European indexes fell again early Tuesday.
The European Union were hammering out new oversight measures aimed at heading off debt problems early among member countries. The EU's credibility has been called into question in recent months as countries like Greece, Spain and Portugal grapple with ballooning debt and try to implement austerity measures.
That has drained confidence from the euro, the currency used by 16 European countries. The euro rose slightly Tuesday to $1.1922. It has traded in a tight range throughout the morning. It dropped to a new four-year low Monday.
Ongoing uncertainty sent investors back into some safe-haven alternatives to stocks and the euro. Gold rose to a record high of $1,254.50 an ounce, before pulling back slightly to $1,251.00 an ounce.
Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 18, or 0.2 percent, to 9,812. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.30, or 0.1 percent, to 1,049.30, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 5.00, or 0.3 percent, to 1,800.75.
Major indexes are trying to snap a two-day losing streak that has seen the Dow lose 4.3 percent. A disappointing jobs report Friday sent the market plunging. Monday's drop did not have an obvious catalyst.
The S&P 500 index fell below its previous lowest close for the year late in the day Monday, which triggered a fresh round of selling by investors. Those sales sent the S&P 500 to its lowest close since November.
There are no major economic reports due out Tuesday that could reassure investors that the domestic economy is improving. Bernanke said in his comments late Monday that the U.S. economy is strengthening, albeit slowly.
Economic data in recent months has shown the economy is indeed bouncing back from recession. Jobs are being created, the manufacturing sector has consistently expanded and inflation remains tame. However, the pace of growth has not picked up as fast as investors expected, which has provided further fuel for recent selling.
The Fed releases its beige book report Wednesday, which provides a regional snapshot of economic activity. That report could provide some support for the battered market if the Fed's tone becomes more positive about the speed of the recovery.
Meanwhile, bond prices dipped Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.16 percent from 3.15 percent late Monday.
Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.3 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 1.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.2 percent.
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