Stock futures signaled a lower open Tuesday as Wall Street greeted the start of earnings season with a yawn. S&P 500 futures fell 2.6 points and were below fair value. Dow futures slid 22 points, while Nasdaq 100 shed 6 points.
The early pullback comes a day after the Dow closed above 11,000 for the first time in 18 months.
After Monday's close, Dow component Alcoa (AA) reported first-quarter profit of 10 cents a share, excluding items. That was up from a loss of 59 cents a share the prior year and in line with views. Revenue gained 18% to $4.89 billion.
Chipmaker Intel (INTC) and railroad operator CSX (CSX) are both set to report results after today's close. Analysts expect Intel's earnings to come in at 38 cents a share vs. 11 cents a year earlier. CSX is seen logging an 11% profit gain to 69 cents a share.
The Commerce Department is set to release February international trade figures at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists forecast a $38.5 billion deficit compared with a $37.29 billion deficit in January.
Elsewhere, the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.84% early Tuesday from 3.85% late Monday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices fell.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 0.48%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.16%. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.25%, Germany's DAX index shed 0.26% and France's CAC-40 retreated 0.13%.
