Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open on Monday, as investors focused on key corporate earning reports.
During early morning hours in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures tacked on 22 points, or 0.13%, the S&P 500 futures added 2 points, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 7 points, or 0.17%.
With no major economic data on the calendar this session, earnings remained in focus.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) saw shares jump 3.8% after reporting stronger than expected second quarter earnings ahead of the opening bell.
The investment bank earned 79 cents per share in the three months ended June 30, beating expectations for earnings of 73 cents per share. Second quarter adjusted revenue totaled $9.56 billion, above forecasts for revenue of $9.10 billion.
Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) rose 3.3% after the oil services company reported better than forecast second quarter profit and sales.
IBM (NYSE:IBM) shares ticked up 0.3% ahead of the company's second quarter earnings report due out after the bell. IBM is projected to report earnings of $3.79 a share, down from $4.32 a year earlier.
PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) was expected to be active as it starts trading in New York on Monday for the very first time after being spun out of eBay.
Meanwhile, miners were under pressure, tracking sharp losses in gold and other metals. Barrick Gold (NYSE:ABX), Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO), Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) and Freeport-McMoran (NYSE:FCX) were all down more than 2% ahead of the open.
Gold plunged by as much as 5.3% in a matter of minutes during early Asian morning hours as a bout of technical selling kicked in after prices broke below a key support level close to the $1,120-level, triggering fresh sell orders amid bearish chart signals.
Elsewhere, U.S.-listed shares of the National Bank of Greece (NYSE:NBG) tacked on 1.55%. Greek banks reopened on Monday for the first time in three weeks, but restrictions on cash withdrawals remained in place.
The debt-strapped nation made a €6.8 billion debt payment to its international creditors on Monday, after receiving an EU bridge loan of €7.16 billion on Friday.
Stay up-to-date on the latest pre-market news and movers by visiting: http://www.investing.com/equities/pre-market.