U.S. stock-index futures tilted higher on Tuesday following a three-session decline that had the S&P 500 erasing 2014 gains, as Wall Street looked to the start of first-quarter earnings reports.
Global markets have been plagued by a loss of momentum over the last three days, led by high-profile U.S. technology stocks.
"What's causing the meltdown in the momentum stocks that had been melting up until recently? Hard to say exactly, other than that their valuation multiples flew too close to the sun," Ed Yardeni, president and chief investment strategist at Yardeni Research, offered in an emailed note.
On Wall Street on Monday, the Nasdaq fell 1.2 percent, in the technology-heavy index's biggest three-session drop since November 2011, while the Dow and posted their worst three-day losing streaks on Monday since Jan. 27, 2014.
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The dollar declined against the currencies of major U.S. trading partners and the 10-year Treasury yield rose 1 basis point to 2.713 percent.
Crude-oil futures for May delivery added 96 cents, or 1 percent, to $101.40 a barrel; gold futures added $13.90, or 1.1 percent, to $1,312.30 an ounce.
Aluminum maker Alcoa will kick off first-quarter earnings season after the close of trade on Tuesday.
On Friday, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo will kick off bank earnings season.
The JOLTS report for February will be published at 10 a.m. ET on Tuesday. The job openings report is closely followed by the Federal Reserve, for which employment is a key factor in determining the rate at which asset purchases are tapered off.
—By CNBC's Katy Barnato