U.S. futures steady ahead of data, earnings; Dow Jones up 0.01%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a steady open on Tuesday, as investors awaited the release of U.S. economic reports later in the day, while a string of weak data from the euro zone and China weighed.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.02% dip, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.15% rise.

Sentiment was hit after data showed that Germany’s manufacturing PMI fell to 47.9 from 49.0 in March, well below the 50 level which separates contraction from expansion, while Germany’s services PMI came in at 49.2, down from 50.9 in March.

The euro zone’s manufacturing PMI ticked down to 46.6 from 46.8 in March, worse than expectations for an unchanged reading,.

The weak data added to speculation over a possible rate cut by the European Central Bank.

Earlier Tuesday, a report showed that the preliminary reading of China’s HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 50.5 for April, down from a final reading of 51.6 in March.

Tech stocks were expected to be active, amid reports ValueAct Capital took a USD2 billion stake in Microsoft, sending shares up 0.23% in pre-market trade.

Among earnings, Netflix reported after the closing bell on Monday better-than-expected earnings, thanks to more online subscribers and the introduction of a service that will allow users to stream four movies at the same time.

The news sent shares in the company soaring 22.76% in early trading.

Texas Instruments was also up pre-market, climbing 0.52%, after saying that first-quarter earnings and revenue slightly exceeded expectations as demand for its chips improved.

Elsewhere, energy-linked companies were also likely to remain in focus, after Halliburton posted quarterly results and said it is in talks to settle private claims against it in a trial, sending shares in the oilfield services company down 0.87% in after-hour trade.

Other stocks in focus included Amgen, DuPont, Lockheed Martin , Xerox Corp. and Yum! Brands, all due to report earnings later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.20%, France’s CAC 40 rallied 1.54%, Germany's DAX gained 0.49%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.78%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index tumbled 1.08%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slipped 0.29%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release private sector data on existing home sales.