-- U.S. stock futures traded marginally lower Tuesday, with investors displaying a degree of caution ahead of the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting as well as earnings from AI chipmaker Nvidia (NASDAQ:).

By 06:15 ET (11:15 GMT), the contract was down 55 points, or 0.2%, traded 4 points, or 0.1%, lower and dropped 7 points, or 0.1%.

The main indices on Wall Street closed higher on Monday, continuing the recent positive trend amid rising expectations the Federal Reserve is done hiking rates and will likely cut early next year.

The gained 0.7% and the tech-heavy climbed 1.1%, the fifth successive positive day for both averages, while the rose over 200 points, or 0.6%.

Investors wary ahead of Fed minutes

Investors appear to be taking a cautious stance ahead of the release of the from the Fed's November gathering, when the U.S. central bank voted to leave interest rates steady at a range of 5.25% to 5.50%, later in the session.

They will be looking for any insight into how officials see rates evolving in the coming months, particularly with recent data suggesting that the tighter policy may be helping to cool price growth in the world's largest economy.

That said, worries also exist that upcoming data might show not just a slowing U.S. economy but also an economy on the verge of a recession. 

Traders have nearly fully priced in the likelihood that the Fed will keep interest rates unchanged in December, while the chance that the central bank could begin to cut borrowing costs as early as May next year is also rising, according to 's . 

Nvidia’s earnings in focus

The earnings season has generally produced better than expected results, and this positive tone is likely to be boosted by earnings from artificial intelligence chip leader Nvidia (NASDAQ:), with expectation of another blockbuster revenue forecast.

Shares of Nvidia's Asian suppliers largely rose on Tuesday as investors expressed confidence in the world’s most valuable chipmaker, looking for more cues on AI-led demand, especially in China.

Additionally, retailers Lowe’s (NYSE:) and (NYSE:) are scheduled to release results before the open Tuesday, and then HP (NYSE:) later in the day.

Oil rises on hopes of further output cuts

Oil prices fell Tuesday, handing back some of the recent gains as traders become cautious ahead of the weekend’s OPEC+ meeting. 

By 06:15 ET, the futures traded 0.5% lower at $77.42 a barrel, while the contract dropped 0.5% to $81.91 a barrel. 

Both contracts climbed about 2% on Monday, adding to Friday’s gains of around 4%, after Reuters reported that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, was set to consider making additional oil supply cuts when it meets on Nov. 26.

Weekly U.S. inventory reports from the and the are due later on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

Additionally, rose 0.7% to $1,994.80/oz, while traded 0.2% higher at 1.0958.

(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)