U.S. stock index futures held their losses Tuesday despite a better-than-expected S&P Case-Shiller home price report, as investors remained cautious ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's speech later this week.
On the economic front, home prices rose in June for the fifth month in a row, with the the S&P/Case Shiller composite index climbing 0.9 percent. Economists had expected a reading of 0.5 percent.
Market cues are mixed with European stocks trading lower on worries about slowing growth after Spain's GDP contracted by a larger than expected amount. Oil prices were also trading higher as Tropical storm Isaac was on the verge of becoming a hurricane.
The storm triggered evacuation orders in some areas and disrupted offshore oil production as it threatened to make landfall between Florida and Louisiana as a Category 2 hurricane.
Investors will be looking ahead to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speech later this week at the St. Louis Fed’s annual symposium in Wyoming for hints of further easing. However, some economists doubt the speech will reveal any new details of policy plans.
Meanwhile, ECB President Mario Draghi said he will not be present at the Jackson Hole meeting due to a "very heavy workload." ECB policymakers have been working on a new bond-buying program to tackle the region's ongoing sovereign debt crisis ahead of a critical meeting on September 6.
