US pre-open: Stocks seen touch higher as investors eye earnings

US futures pointed to a marginally firmer open on Wall Street on Tuesday as investors continued to mull Donald Trump's tax reform pledges ahead of more earnings reports.

At 1125 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq futures were up 0.2%, while S&P 500 futures were 0.1% higher.

Stocks racked up healthy gains on Monday as investors welcomed centrist Emmanuel Macron's win in the first round of the French presidential elections, with bank shares putting in a particularly impressive performance.

IG analyst Chris Beauchamp said: "US bank stocks will be looking to build on yesterday’s gains, after they led the market higher thanks to a recovery in yields; the sector has endured a tough couple of months, losing around 10%, but now seems poised for a bounceback, particularly if Trump can kick-start his reform plans around taxation.

"Ahead of the open, we expect the Dow to start at 20,806, up 43 points from last night’s close."

Market participants were looking ahead to Wednesday, after President Trump tweeted over the weekend that he would make a big announcement on tax reform.

In corporate news, DuPont edged lower in pre-market trade following the release of its first-quarter results.

Earnings were still due from Caterpillar, McDonald's, Eli Lilly, Coca-Cola, 3M and Lockheed Martin before the opening bell.

On the data front, S&P/Case-Shiller house prices are at 1400 BST, while new home sales are at 1500 BST, along with the Richmond Fed manufacturing index.

Societe Generale said: "Following a 5.3% rise in January and a 6.1% jump in February, new home sales may have held around 590,000 units (annualised) in March. After a surge in February, we expect that sales in the Midwest fell back to trend which likely offset modest gains in other areas - leaving overall sales little changed."

Oil prices nudged higher, with West Texas Intermediate and Brent crude up 0.3% to $49.38 a barrel and $51.75, respectively. The American Petroleum Institute will release its estimate of crude oil supplies for the end of last week at 2130 BST.