U.S. stock-index futures ticked higher on Tuesday as it absorbed fourth-quarter earnings from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the first of the major investment banks to report.
A gauge of U.S. consumer spending , while Import prices were unchanged versus a 0.3 percent estimate.
JPMorgan's net income fell to $5.28 billion, or $1.30 per share, in the fourth quarter from $5.69 billion, or $1.39 per share in the same quarter of 2012, JPMorgan said on Tuesday. Excluding items, the company reported earnings of $1.40 a share.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the Dow component to post earnings per share of $1.35 a share on revenue of $23.69 billion.
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Wells Fargo reported an 11 percent rise in , with shares of the nation's biggest mortgage lender slipping in pre-market trade.
Overall, fourth quarter earnings for the are expected to rise about 7 percent. Financials are seen reporting the biggest profit increases — a 21 percent jump.
(Read more: Traders eye retail sales data, earnings as volatility jumps)
Traders continue to watch Federal Reserve speakers for clues as to the rate at which bond-purchasing tapering will proceed. With that in mind, speeches by Philadelphia Fed President Charles Plosser at 12:45 p.m. and Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher at 1:20 p.m. will attract interest.
In stock news, Google reported late on Monday that it was buying for $3.2 billion. Frankfurt-listed Google stock traded around 0.9 percent lower early on Tuesday.
In addition, Time Warner Cable has rejected $61.3 billion buyout bid by Charter Communications as "grossly inadequate."
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—By CNBC's Katy Barnato