(By Balachander) U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a flat opening on the Wall Street as investors digested mixed corporate earnings reports.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures fell 17 points to 13,562. The Nasdaq futures added 1.25 points to 2,735. Standard and Poor's 500 futures slid 1.20 points to 1,477.70.
At 10 am ET, the National Association of Realtors may report that existing home sales for December rose to 5.10 million from 5.04 million. Another data may show the Richmond Manufacturing Index came in at 4 in January.
In other news, the Bank of Japan announced asset purchase program starting January 2014 and the central bank adopted an inflation target of 2 percent.
Markets in U.S. were shut for the Martin Luther King holiday on Monday. U.S. stocks ended on a modestly higher note on Friday as investors weighed upbeat quarterly results from General Electric and Morgan Stanley against soft guidance from Intel.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: JNJ, VZ, DD, FCX, TRV, EAT, HOTT, PETS
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings amid strong growth of key products and launch of new products though the healthcare company issued guidance below market expectations. Shares fell 0.93 percent in premarket.
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) retreated 1.50 percent in premarket after the company reported a wider quarterly loss hit by non-operational charges while posting strong customer and revenue growth in its Wireless and FiOS services.
DuPont (NYSE: DD) gained 1.53 percent in premarket after the company's quarterly results topped Wall Street expectations.
Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE: FCX) rose 1.90 in premarket after the miner posted an increase in quarterly earnings and revenue.
Travelers Companies Inc. (NYSE: TRV) jumped 3.51 percent in premarket after the property insurer posted its quarterly results. The company's earnings fell due to higher catastrophe losses, while revenue and net written premiums rose.
Brinker International Inc. (NYSE: EAT) lost 4.11 percent in premarket after the restaurant company announced its second-quarter results.
Hot Topic Inc. (NASDAQ: HOTT) may be in focus after the apparel retailer announced the resignation of CFO Jim McGinty, effective March 29, 2013. The company named George Wehlitz as CFO on an interim basis.
Petmed Express Inc. (NASDAQ: PETS) gained 3.56 percent in premarket after the pet pharmacy's quarterly earnings came in better than forecast.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ: TXN) are due to report their results after the market closes.
Global Markets
European markets traded lower, with Germany's DAX down 0.85 percent to trade at 7,688.71. France's CAC40 shed 0.53 percent to trade at 3,742.95. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 declined 0.16 percent to trade at 6,171.28.
Asian markets closed mixed, with China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index down 0.56 percent to close at 2,315.14. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 0.35 percent to finish at 10,709.93. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.29 percent to end at 23,658.99. India's BSE Sensex ended 0.60 percent lower at 19,981.57.
Commodity & Currency Scan
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures dipped 0.03 percent to $95.53 per barrel. Gold futures added 0.17 percent to $1,690.20 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro declined 0.02 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.3310, while the British pound rose 0.20 percent to 1.5861. The dollar dropped 0.92 percent against the Japanese yen to 88.7800.