U.S. stock index futures moved between small gains and losses Tuesday, ahead of several retail first-quarter earnings reports.
Medtronic, Staples and TJX will all post results before Wall Street opens. Salesforce.com will then publish numbers after U.S. markets close.
Early in the day, home improvement retailer Home Depot reported earnings per share and revenue that missed Wall Street expectations. The Dow-listed company posted earnings of 96 cents, excluding one-time items, on sales of $19.7 billion. Results were hit by the slow growth in housing at the beginning of the year, due to the unusually cold weather.
Read More Home Depot misses forecasts, hurt by slow season
No major economic data is due on Tuesday. The New York Federal Reserve's Bill Dudley will discuss the economy during the U.S. trading session, as will Philadelphia Fed's Charles Plosser.
"Dudley has recently commented on the Fed's exit strategy with regards to rate hikes and portfolio wind downs, so his speech will be of interest," said Jim Reid in a research note on Tuesday.
In Asia, equity markets were mostly higher on Tuesday, but the mood was cautious amid developments in Thailand and as the Bank of Japan's two-day policy meeting commenced.
In Europe, shares traded flat, with investor caution remaining about the possibility of policy action from the European Central Bank and upcoming European Parliament elections.