(By Balachander) U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on the Wall Street as investors digested quarterly results from Goldman Sachs, Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures advanced 55 points to 13,414. The Nasdaq futures rose 13.75 points to 2,745. Standard and Poor's 500 futures gained 6.70 points to 1,442.20.
On the U.S. economic front, a data showed that core consumer price index rose 2.0 percent in September, matching economists expectations. The headline index also increased 2.0 percent, coming in above expectations of a rise of 1.9 percent.
At 9.15 am ET, a report may show industrial production in the U.S. probably rose 0.2 percent in September after a fall of 1.2 percent in the prior month.
On Monday, U.S. stocks ended in green following a jump in monthly retail sales and stronger-than-forecast earnings from Citigroup.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: GS, C, JNJ, KO, MAT, UNH, GWW, RATE, MCHP, WDFC, DBD, INTC, IBM
In corporate news, Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C), which posted better-than-estimated earnings for the third quarter on Monday, said CEO Vikram Pandit has stepped down, effective immediately. The bank named Michael Corbat as its CEO. In addition, Citigroup said its COO John Havens has resigned. Shares shed 3.03 percent in premarket.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings on higher revenue. In addition, the board raised its quarterly dividend. Shares inched higher in premarket.
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) reported an unexpected increase in quarterly earnings amid strong growth of key products and launch of new products and the healthcare company lifted its forecast for the full year. Shares gained 1.09 percent in premarket.
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE:KO) reported a 4 percent rise in quarterly profit, helped by global volume growth. Earnings also topped Wall Street projections, while revenue growth was slightly short of consensus.
UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) added 1.13 percent in premarket after the company lifted its forecast for the full year after reporting better-than estimated quarterly earnings.
Mattel Inc. (NASDAQ:MAT) jumped 4.18 percent in premarket after the toy maker reported a rise in quarterly earnings due to jump in gross margins and sales growth.
W.W. Grainger Inc. (NYSE:GWW) tumbled 5.97 percent in premarket after its third-quarter earnings fell short of market expectations.
Bankrate Inc. (NYSE:RATE) plunged 22.76 percent in premarket after the personal finance content publisher guided third quarter below Wall Street view and lowered full-year revenue growth estimate.
Microchip Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MCHP) shed 1.40 percent after the microcontroller company expects lower-than-anticipated net sales activity in the September quarter due to macroeconomic and industry conditions.
WD-40 Co. (NASDAQ:WDFC) retreated 10.40 percent in premarket after the consumer products company reported fourth-quarter results below Wall Street estimates.
Diebold Inc. (NYSE:DBD) fell 11.08 percent after the security systems company slashed its forecast for the full year, partly citing customer delays related to its financial self-service business in Brazil.
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC) and International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) are due to post their quarterly results after the market closes.
Global Markets:
European markets traded in green amid reports that Spain is preparing to request a bailout package, with Germany's DAX adding 1.31 percent to trade at 7,356.02. France's CAC40 rose 1.28 percent to trade at 3,464.07. U.K.'s FTSE 100 gained 0.98 percent to trade at 5,862.72.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index inched up 0.01 percent to end at 2,098.81. Japan's Nikkei 225 added 1.44 percent to finish at 8.701.31. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.28 percent to close at 21,207.07. India's BSE Sensex finished at 18,577.70, down 0.73 percent.
Commodity & Currency Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures gained 0.32 percent to $92.14 per barrel. Gold futures added 0.42 percent to $1,744.9 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro gained 0.80 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.3053. The British pound advanced 0.34 percent against the greenback to 1.6125, and the dollar rose 0.37 percent against the Japanese yen to 78.8900.