Stocks mixed, BofAML signal contrarian buy

Stocks were mixed on Tuesday.

The S&P 500 fell 0.9 percent, the STOXX Europe 600 was little changed and the Nikkei 225 jumped 1.1 percent.

Oil rose, with US crude-oil futures rising 1.2 percent to a seven-month high.

The yield on the US 10-year Treasury note rose to 1.759 percent from 1.752 percent on Monday as Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart and San Francisco Fed President John Williams said in an event on Tuesday that the decision on whether to raise rates at the 14-15 June meeting depends on the data.

The continuing uncertainty may be discouraging investors from committing more money in the market. “A lot of people are still waiting for more clear views on where the global economy is going to go,” said Omar Aguilar, chief investment officer for equities at Charles Schwab Investment Management.

On the other hand, weak sentiment may be a reason to buy stocks, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's equity and quant strategy research team.

In a note on Monday, the team pointed out that Wall Street strategists on average are recommending just 52 percent allocation to equities, the lowest in over a year. "Bearish sentiment is typically bullish for equities, and this model recently generated a contrarian buy signal."