Wall Street on track to open at record highs

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

REUTERS - U.S. stocks were poised to open at record highs on Tuesday as Home Depot's strong earnings helped shake off some of the risk-off mood on Wall Street.

As the first-quarter earnings season wraps up, investors will turn their attention to political developments that could hamper President Donald Trump's plans to bring in pro-growth policies.

Investors were wary following reports that Trump disclosed highly classified information to Russia's foreign minister about a planned Islamic State operation.

The dollar index - which measures the greenback against six other major currencies - hit a six-month low, while prices of safe-haven gold rose.

However, strong earnings including those of Dow component Home Depot, could lead markets higher. The No. 1 U.S. home improvement chain reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit, sending its shares up 2 percent in premarket trading.

While earnings continue to support the indices, global geopolitical tensions and political developments in Washington could unsettle the market's record-setting spree.

"New accusations against Trump on intelligent secrets if expanded will be the catalyst to ignite a perfect storm (in the market)," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First standard Financial, wrote in a note.

Dow e-minis were up 33 points, or 0.16 percent at 8:31 a.m. ET (1331 GMT), with 17,792 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.07 percent, with 119,792 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 6.5 points, or 0.11 percent, on volume of 21,127 contracts.

Wall Street closed higher on Monday with gains in technology, energy and financial stocks powering the S&P and the Nasdaq to close at record levels.

Oil prices edged up about 0.2 percent, prompted by the dollar's decline and the expectation for a supply limit deal to extend into next year.

Pfizer was off 1.6 percent at $32.56 after Citigroup downgraded the drug developer's stock to "sell" from "neutral".

Akebia Therapeutics was up nearly 17 percent at $15.05 after the drug developer entered into an agreement with Vifor Pharma Group, which also made a $50 million equity investment in the company.

Dick's Sporting Goods tumbled 12 percent after the company reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)