US Markets

US stock futures gain after earnings; inflation data

U.S. stock-index futures indicated a higher open on Tuesday, amid a blitz of first-quarter results from a number of industry heavyweights, including Dow components Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson.

Coca-Cola reported earnings per share of 44 cents, excluding items, on $10.58 billion in revenue, versus expectations of earnings of 44 cents a share on $10.55 billion in sales. Johnson & Johnson posted first-quarter earnings excluding items of $1.54 a share on $18.1 billion in revenue, beating analysts' expectations. Shares of both companies rose in early New York trading.

The U.S. consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in March, versus expectations of a 0.1 percent gain.

Tech majors Intel and Yahoo report after the close of trade.

Ahead of the results, Macquarie Equities Research upgraded Yahoo to "outperform" from "neutral", citing a recent pullback in its shares and the upcoming Alibaba stock listing.

In total, around 10 percent of constituents will have reported by the end of the week, making up a fifth of the index's market capitalization. Stocks have recently been hit by concerns over weak earnings and high valuations, encouraging some investors out of riskier assets, particularly tech momentum stocks.

Economic data due on Tuesday also includes the Empire State manufacturing survey for April and the NAHB housing market index for April. There will also be capital inflows data for February.

In addition, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will make opening remarks at the Atlanta Fed's financial market conference in Georgia. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz and Charles Plosser from the Philadelphia Fed will also speak.

European shares were lower early on Tuesday, pushed down by concerns about the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Pro-Russian protesters have seized government offices and police stations in eastern Ukraine, but Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied Russian involvement.

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