(By Balachander) U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a modestly higher opening on the Wall Street ahead of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures rose 17 points to 13,942. The Nasdaq futures advanced 0.75 points to 2,772. Standard and Poor's 500 futures gained 1.90 points to 1,515.
Obama will deliver his State of the Union address after the markets close and investors expect the President to focus on the "sequester" or automatic spending cuts that will take effect in just two weeks.
There are no major U.S. economic data scheduled for the day.
Other reports of interest due to be released over the week include: the Commerce Department's retail sales data, the New York Federal Reserve's manufacturing survey, the weekly jobless claims, consumer sentiment survey and the Federal Reserve's industrial production report.
On Monday, U.S. stocks closed in red as investors eyed a meet by the Eurogroup finance ministers to discuss aid to Cyprus and Greece.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: FB, KO, RAI, KORS, AVP, FOSL, LGF
Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) fell 2.44 percent in premarket. Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. downgraded rating on the stock to market perform from outperform.
Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) edged lower in premarket after the beverage giant reported a 13 percent increase in quarterly profit, helped by global volume growth. Earnings also topped Wall Street projections, while revenue growth was slightly short of consensus.
Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) posted a fall in quarterly earnings citing a drop in cigarette volumes. Adjusted results, however, beat Wall Street projections and the tobacco company issued 2013 forecast above consensus.
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: KORS) surged 11.04 percent in premarket after the apparel retailer boosted its 2013 guidance yet again and posted a jump in quarterly earnings, bolstered by strong results across each of its retail, wholesale and licensing segments.
Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) rose 7.06 percent in premarket after the maker of beauty products posted better-than-expected adjusted earnings. The company declared a quarterly dividend of $.06 per share.
Fossil Inc. (NASDAQ: FOSL) reported a 28 percent jump in quarterly earnings on a rise in sales as well as strong growth in its geographical segments. However, the fashion accessories maker guided first quarter below consensus.
Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE: LGF) added 2.08 percent in premarket after the motion pictures company posted a quarterly profit as revenue jumped.
Global Markets
European markets traded higher, with Germany's DAX up 0.08 percent to trade at 7,638.37. France's CAC40 added 0.38 percent to trade at 3,664.33. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.40 percent to trade at 6,302.40.
Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.94 percent to end at 11,369.12. India's BSE Sensex closed 0.52 percent higher at 19,561.04. The Chinese and Hong Kong markets were shut for holidays.
Commodity & Currency Scan
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures traded 0.49 percent higher at $97.51 per barrel. Gold futures inched 0.01 percent higher to $1,649 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro rose 0.33 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.3450, while the British pound fell 0.34 percent to 1.5607. The dollar slid 0.07 percent against the Japanese yen at 94.2500.