Stocks Mostly Down Pre-Bell as Earnings Take Center Stage

07:15 AM EDT, 10/20/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were mostly pointing lower on Tuesday as investors await a fresh round of corporate earnings. The S&P 500 edged down 0.1% and the Nasdaq 100 was off 0.5% in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 finished Monday's trading session higher, while the Dow closed in the red. Rocket and satellite company SpaceX (SPCX) and streaming giant Netflix (NFLX) are some of the major companies scheduled to release their latest financial results after the markets close Tuesday, along with Intuitive Surgical (ISRG) and United Airlines (UAL). In a Monday client note, RBC Capital Markets said it expected SpaceX to continue sharing "ambitious" business updates with its financial results amid increasing investor interest around a potential merger with Tesla (TSLA). Last week, Wedbush Securities said Netflix is making significant changes to address slowing viewer engagement and revive growth, though the benefits may take time to materialize. GE Aerospace (GE), RTX (RTX), 3M (MMM), Northrop Grumman (NOC), General Motors (GM), Genuine Parts (GPC) and Hasbro (HAS) are expected to post their earnings before the bell, among others. Oppenheimer Asset Management upgraded the S&P 500 full-year earnings outlook as the third-quarter reporting season got off to a solid start, it said in a Monday report. Treasury yields were mixed early Tuesday, with the two-year rate gaining 1.3 basis points to 4.77% while the 10-year rate retreated 1.1 basis points to 5.13%. The housing starts and permits data for September is out at 8:30 am ET, followed by the pending home sales index for the same month at 10 am. West Texas Intermediate crude oil climbed 4.4% to $108.17 a barrel Tuesday. Brent increased 1.5% to $111.15 a barrel, its highest level since May, Reuters reported. Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels said Monday they launched several strikes at Saudi Arabia, targeting the Kingdom's energy, airport and military infrastructure, Reuters reported. Saudi authorities didn't immediately confirm the Houthi claims, the report showed. Spot gold decreased 0.7% to $4,131 per troy ounce, while bitcoin nudged down 0.4% to $81,483.