US pre-open: Futures higher as traders await earnings

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Tuesday as investors braced for another day full of Q2 earnings.

As of 1235 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.13%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.20% and 0.22%, respectively.

The Dow closed 49.41 points lower on Monday, taking a small bite out of gains recorded in the previous session.

Earnings will be Tuesday's primary focus, with results from Merck, Pfizer, PayPal, Procter & Gamble and JetBlue all due before the bell, while Microsoft, Advanced Micro Devices and Starbucks will all report their latest quarterly numbers after the close of trading.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "Today marks the beginning of a highly volatile and unpredictable period that could make or break market sentiment for the coming months. In a week that sees roughly a third of the S&P 500 report, markets will be crossing their fingers as we await earnings from four of the Mag7. Today will have a particular focus on Microsoft, with the world’s second-largest listed company reporting before the open. The story appears to be similar for many of these big tech names, with traders on the lookout for signs that the vast sums of money being invested in AI has started to pay dividends. However, once again it may be the now hum drum cloud services segment which comes to the rescue to drive earnings higher once more."

On the macro front, the Federal Reserve Bank will kick-off its two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, with its latest interest rate decision set to be revealed on Wednesday. Economists widely expect the central bank to keep rates unchanged.

Elsewhere, May's housing price index will be published at 1400 BST, while July's consumer confidence and June's JOLTS job openings figures will follow at 1500 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com