(By Balachander) U.S. stock index futures pointed to a modestly higher open on the Wall Street ahead of domestic economic data amid lingering concerns over Europe's debt crisis.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures advanced 18.00 points to 12,449.00. The Nasdaq Futures rose 5.25 points to 2,531.75. Standard and Poor's 500 futures inched up 1.90 points to 1,308.50.
On the US economic front, the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index of property values in 20 metropolitan areas for April is due at 9 am ET, and the June consumer-confidence report due at 10 am ET.
Europe still remain in the headlines and will continue to do so as the region's leaders are due to meet later this week to address the debt woes. Moody's Investors Service downgraded 28 Spanish banks citing exposure to the struggling real estate market.
Meanwhile, Cyprus followed Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain to seek a bailout. In Germany, a report showed a surprise improvement in consumer confidence in the Europe's largest economy. Spain's borrowing costs rose sharply in an auction of 3-and 6-month bills.
On Monday, U.S. stocks ended sharply lower weighed by persisting worries over the debt crisis in eurozone, where Spain formally requested help to recapitalize its struggling banks.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: NWSA, FB, APOL, CSTR, STX, SNX
In corporate news, News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWSA) gained 5.05 percent in premarket. The New York-based media company is mulling splitting its film and TV businesses, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the situation.
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) added 1.22 percent in premarket. The social networking giant appointed Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg to its board, making her the first female board member.
Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ:APOL) rose 4.25 percent in premarket after the Phoenix, Arizona-based private education provider posted third-quarter earnings and revenue that came in above Wall Street expectations.
Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSTR) retreated 3.00 percent in premarket. The Bellevue, Washington-based Redbox kiosks owner slashed its earnings guidance for the full year to reflect charges related to the acquisition of DVD assets of NCR Corp. (NYSE: NCR).
Seagate Technology Plc (NASDAQ:STX) advanced 3.14 percent. The Dublin, Ireland-based maker of data storage drives will replace Progress Energy Inc. (NYSE: PGN) in the S&P 500 index after the close of trading on Friday.
Synnex Corp. (NYSE:SNX) lost 3.75 percent in premarket after the Fremont, California-based business services company's lower-than-expected second-quarter sales and weak third-quarter forecast.
Global Markets:
European markets traded mixed, with Germany's DAX losing 0.12 percent to trade at 6,124.84. France's CAC40 shed 0.16 percent to trade at 3,016.82. U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.07 percent to trade at 5,454.27.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index dipped 0.10 percent to trade at 2,221.88. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.45 percent to close at 18,981.84. Japan's Nikkei 225 shed 0.81 percent to end at 8,663.99. India's BSE Sensex finished at 16,906.58, up 0.14 percent.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures dropped 0.32 percent to $78.96 per barrel. Gold futures fell 0.33 percent to $1,583.1 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro traded 0.33 percent lower against the U.S. dollar at 1.2463, and the British pound inched up 0.07 percent against the greenback at 1.5585. The dollar slipped 0.45 percent against the Japanese yen at 79.3100.