U.S. stock index futures fell slightly in Asian trading on Tuesday amid continued uncertainty about the direction of interest rates。But there are important earnings reports coming out this week, especially from Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA), that traders are looking forward to.。

Markets lack signs as US gets Monday off。However, trading activity is expected to pick up in the coming days as the earnings season progresses.。

S & P 500 index futures, Nasdaq 100 index futures and Dow Jones index futures fell by 0 at around 19: 34 EST (00: 34 GMT)..1% to 0.2%。

On Friday, U.S. market indexes fell, with the S & P 500 down 0.5%, the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.8%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4%。

The falls came after January's producer price index inflation data beat expectations.。

The results came just days after higher-than-expected consumer price index inflation data, raising concerns that the Federal Reserve may maintain higher interest rates for an extended period of time.。

That assumption has driven some U.S. stocks to take back, while the three major benchmark indexes remain within range of the all-time highs they hit last week.。

Wall Street's recent rally has been driven entirely by the tech sector, largely because of growing optimism about AI demand.。

This week, Nvidia's fourth-quarter earnings are expected to be a major test of that theory on Wall Street, given that the company is in the midst of a massive AI-driven valuation spike.。Nvidia, which is expected to report earnings after Wednesday's close, is expected to earn 4 per share..$63 on revenue of 205.$200 million。

It comes after leading retailer Wal-Mart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings before the market opens on Tuesday.。The company, seen as a key indicator of US consumer spending, is expected to report earnings per share of 1.$65 on $169.3 billion in revenue。

In terms of transactions, First Capital Financial (NYSE: COF) announced on Monday night that it would acquire Discover (NYSE: DFS) 's credit card business in an all-stock transaction for $35 billion, one of the largest transactions to date in 2024.。