(By Balachander) U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a higher opening on the Wall Street ahead of a report on non manufacturing activity.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures rose 46 points to 13,891. The Nasdaq futures added 10 points to 2,721.50. Standard and Poor's 500 futures advanced 5.30 points to 1,498.70.
On the domestic data front, the Institute for Supply Management's (ISM) non-manufacturing survey is expected to show a reading of 55.2 for January from 56.1 for December.
Other reports of interest due to be released over the week include the weekly jobless claims and the Commerce Department's trade balance.
On Monday, U.S. stocks ended sharply lower as the headlines from Europe as well as a weaker-than-expected domestic factory orders data dented sentiment. Contributing to the weakness were reports that Spain's opposition Socialist Party urged Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign following corruption allegations. Spanish 10-year benchmark yield climbed to 5.40 percent, while Italian 10-year yields rose to 4.42 percent.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: BP, GILD, YUM, DELL, BIDU, K, SIRI, EL, VMED
BP Plc (NYSE: BP) advanced 1.35 percent in premarket after the U.K.'s oil and gas giant posted better-than-expected earnings for the fourth quarter.
Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) rose 1.67 percent in premarket after the company reported a 14.6 percent increase in quarterly earnings on higher product sales backed by HIV treating antiviral franchise. Results exceeded Wall Street expectations.
Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE: YUM) tumbled 6.15 percent in premarket after the the parent of KFC and Pizza Hut said it no longer expects to achieve earnings per share growth in 2013 amid a sharp decline in China KFC sales.
Baidu.com Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) slumped 6.71 percent in premarket after the Chinese search engine reported slowing online marketing revenue growth for the fourth quarter compared with prior periods.
Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) added 0.68 percent in premarket amid reports that the PC maker is close to a deal worth between $23 billion and $24 billion to go private.
Kellogg Co. (NYSE: K) posted double-digit sales growth for the fourth quarter, topping market expectations, and the ready-to-eat cereal food maker backed its 2013 outlook. Shares rose 0.69 percent in premarket.
Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) lost 1.42 percent in premarket after the New York-based radio broadcaster posted its fourth-quarter results. Earnings came in line with market expectations, while revenue trailed consensus.
Estee Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE: EL) rose 3.19 percent in premarket after the maker of skin care and fragrance products, posted better-than-expected quarterly results on sales gains in each of its geographic regions and major product categories.
Virgin Media Inc. (NASDAQ: VMED) surged 16.26 percent in premarket after the provider of broadband services confirmed that it is in talks with Liberty Global Inc. (NASDAQ: LBTYA) concerning a possible transaction.
Global Markets
European markets traded in green, with Germany's DAX inching up 0.10 percent to trade at 7,643.56. France's CAC40 gained 0.98 percent to trade at 3,693.83. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 added 0.52 percent to trade at 6,279.40.
Asian markets closed mixed, with China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index rising 0.20 percent to close at 2,433.13. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.90 percent to finish at 11,046.92. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.27 percent to end at 23,148.53. India's BSE Sensex ended 0.46 percent lower at 19,659.82.
Commodity & Currency Scan
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures traded 0.68 percent higher at $96.81 per barrel. Gold futures advanced 0.05 percent to $1,677.10 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro gained 0.15 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.3534, while the British pound dipped 0.17 percent to 1.5734. The dollar jumped 1.01 percent against the Japanese yen to 93.3100.