Stock futures tick higher on Tuesday morning

Stock futures rose slightly Tuesday morning as worries over Covid cases in China kept investor sentiment in check.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average climber 46 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures were 0.1% higher, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.1%.

China saw its first deaths in the mainland from Covid since May over the weekend. It prompted fears among investors that the country could bring back restrictions meant to slow virus spread, which would hurt business.

The news out of China pushed investors away from growth stocks Monday and toward defensive sectors like health care and utilities, said David Waddell, CEO of Waddell & Associates. He said it also led to “reflexive” U.S. dollar buying, which gave bond yields upward pressure.

“On low volume days like today, the market gets Pavlovian,” he said. “If you want to make sense of this market, watch the dollar.

Stocks are coming off a down session, with the Dow losing 45 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite slid 0.4% and 1.1%, respectively. Losses on the Dow were kept in check by a 6.3% gain in Disney following the return of Bob Iger as CEO.

On Tuesday, several Federal Reserve officials are set to speak, including Kansas City Fed President Esther George and St. Louis Fed President James Bullard.

Economic reports due out include the Philadelphia Fed’s nonmanufacturing business outlook survey and the Richmond Fed’s manufacturing index.

Investors are also watching for earnings reports from Dollar Tree, Best Buy, HP and Nordstrom.