Stock markets today: Global markets lower before U.S. earnings

Global stocks and Wall Street futures declined Tuesday as investors awaited U.S. earnings reports and an update on economic growth.

Global stocks and Wall Street futures declined Tuesday as investors awaited U.S. earnings reports and an update on economic growth.

London and Frankfurt opened lower. Shanghai and Hong Kong declined while Tokyo advanced. Oil prices were little-changed.

Some 170 of the biggest U.S. companies including Microsoft and Amazon are due to report earnings this week. On Monday, Wall Street's benchmark S&P 500 index gained 0.1% after Coca-Cola Co.'s quarterly profit was better than expected.

Also this week, U.S. data are expected to show economic growth is slowing following interest rate hikes to cool stubbornly high inflation. France and Germany also are due to report economic growth after surveys showed factory activity weakening.

If the economy cools, tech stocks will face a "difficult environment" maintaining high prices that have helped to buoy the market, Edward Moya of Oanda said in a report. He said stocks face "big risks" from corporate earnings and a battle in Washington over raising the government's debt limit.

In early trading, the FTSE 100 in London fell 0.4% to 7,880.69 and the DAX in Frankfurt lost 0.3% to 15,811.08. The CAC 40 in Paris retreated 0.8% to 7,517.41.

On Wall Street, the S&P 500 future was off 0.5%. That for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.4% lower.