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U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open on Tuesday as investors pored through a slew of key earnings from companies such as United Technologies, Procter & Gamble and McDonald’s.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials lost 14 points, or 0.1%, early Tuesday to 26,783
Futures for the S&P 500 gained 4.25 points, or 0.1%, at 3,010.75
NASDAQ Composite futures advanced 27.75 points, or 0.4%, to 7,976
United Technologies shares rose more than 1.5% after the company posted earnings that topped analyst expectations. Better-than-expected revenues from the company’s Otis, Pratt & Whitney and Collins Aerospace divisions helped drive the beat.
Procter & Gamble climbed 4.2% in the premarket after its results topped expectations. The company’s numbers were driven by Procter’s beauty, health care and fabric and home care lines.
However, those results were dampened by a 3% drop in McDonald’s shares. The fast-food giant posted earnings and revenue for the previous quarter that missed analyst expectations. The company’s U.S. same-store sales, a key metric for franchises, grew by 4.8%. That’s below estimates of 5.1%.
So far, more than 18% of S&P 500 companies have reported quarterly numbers. Of those companies, nearly 80% have beaten analyst earnings expectations.
Texas Instruments, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Snap are poised to report their latest quarterly figures after market close.
Investors also kept an eye on global trade after China’s vice foreign minister said that Beijing and Washington had achieved some progress in their trade talks.
His comments come less than 24 hours after President Donald Trump sounded optimistic about the prospect of a trade agreement by the middle of next month.
On the data front, the Philadelphia Fed non-manufacturing index for October will be released at around 8:30 a.m. ET. Existing home sales for September and the Richmond Fed survey for October will follow slightly later in the session.
Overseas, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index gained 0.2%, while markets in Tokyo were shuttered for holiday.
Oil prices gained 33 cents to $53.64 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices picked up $1.10 to $1,489.20 U.S. an ounce.
