US pre-open: Futures muted following S&P 500's record close

Wall Street futures were pointing to a somewhat muted open ahead of the bell on Tuesday after the S&P 500 registered a fresh record close in December's maiden session.

As of 1240 GMT, Dow Jones and Nasdaq-100 futures were down 0.04% and 0.05%, respectively, while S&P 500 futures were up 0.02%.

The Dow closed 128.65 points lower on Monday, taking a bite out of gains recorded in the previous session, while the S&P 500 wrapped up the session 14.77 points higher.

Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "Last month’s rally has seen if not a change in leadership, at least a broadening in the stock market rally. Financials and industrials have benefitted, while sectors viewed as defensive, such as healthcare and consumer staples, have been largely ignored. This gives ammunition to the bullish perspective. It indicates that investors have the confidence to extend their exposure outside of the market-leading tech sector. At the same time, the prevailing bullishness means that investors are currently spurning ‘safe haven’ defensive stocks."

On the macro front, October JOLTS job openings figures will be out at 1500 GMT.

In corporate news, Salesforce will report earnings after the close.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com