US pre-open: Futures mixed as major indices search for direction ahead of Thursday's CPI reading

Wall Street futures were mixed ahead of the bell on Tuesday as major indices seemed to be searching for direction ahead of key inflation data set to be released later in the week.

As of 1240 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.07%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were up 0.12% and 0.38%, respectively.

The Dow closed 126.15 points lower on Monday despite ongoing optimism regarding the US economy reopening in the summer.

Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were both somewhat muted prior to the open as market participants continued to look ahead to last month's consumer price index on Thursday following last week's jobs report, which revealed the US had added fewer jobs than originally expected in May but the unemployment rate had dropped to 5.8% from 6.1%.

SpreadEx's Connor Campbell said: "At present, the Dow Jones doesn't look interested in upping the ante this afternoon. The futures have the index down 0.1%, and hovering around 34,600. That leaves the Dow within reach of its 35,000 all-time highs, but perhaps reticent to near that level until it gets a gander at Thursday’s inflation data."

On the macro front, small-business confidence slipped lower in May, the first decline in four months, amid a national labour shortage and concerns regarding inflation both weighed on business owners' economic outlook, according to the National Federation of Independent Business, which revealed its small business optimism index fell 0.2 points to a reading of 99.6 in May after three consecutive monthly increases.

Still to come, April trade balance numbers will be released at 1330 BST, while April JOLTs job openings figures will follow at 1500 BST.

In the corporate space, Tesla and "meme stock" AMC Entertainment picked up some early gains, while Delta Air Lines were also in the green on the back of an upgrade from analysts at Jefferies.