US pre-open: Stocks seen muted as geopolitical tensions simmer

US futures pointed to a muted open on Tuesday ahead of some key bank earnings later in the week, with geopolitical tensions never far from investors' minds.

At 1150 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were all flat.

Geopolitical concerns continued to build after North Korea denounced the US deployment of a navy strike group to the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Theresa May agreed there is a "window of opportunity" to persuade Russian to ditch its support for Syria's Bashar al-Assad.

TopTradr analyst Tony Cross said: "Geopolitical risks remain high, with the French elections as well as the threat of military action both in the Middle East and against North Korea casting a shadow over markets, so today could well end up being one where many traders elect to remain on the sidelines - with one eye being firmly on risk mitigation ahead of the long weekend break."

In corporate news, United Continental Holdings fell in pre-market trade after the airline was caught dragging a passenger off an overbooked flight. United said it had asked for four volunteers to leave the plane due to overbooking and one customer refused to give up his seat.

Shares in coupons website RetailMeNot were likely to be active following news late on Monday that it has agreed to be bought by Harland Clarke Holdings for $11.60 a share, which is about 50% above its closing price on Monday.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari is scheduled to take part in a Q&A session in Minneapolis at 1845 BST. His comments will come after Fed chief Janet Yellen suggested late on Monday that the central bank's focus has shifted from stimulating the economy to sustaining the progress that has pushed it close to the Fed's objectives.

On the data front, the JOLTS job openings reading for February is due at 1500 BST. It is expected to fall from 105.3 to 104.7 month-on-month.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, earnings from banking heavyweights JPMorgan, Wells Fargo and Citigroup are due on Thursday.