NEW YORK (AP) -
Stock index futures are pointing toward a lower start on Wall Street as investors show a little more caution after the market's huge two-week rally.
Investors appear ready to follow their counterparts overseas, where markets declined on mixed corporate earnings.
Wall Street is waiting for a stream of earnings reports over the next three days. And later Tuesday, they'll get readings on home prices and consumer confidence.
"There is uncertainty about how fast the rally can go and how far it can go," said Robert Phillips, a managing director at Spectrum Management Group of Raymond James & Associates. That cautious nature could contribute to a slight pullback in the market over the coming days, he added.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence report is expected to show Americans remain worried about current economic conditions and the rise in unemployment. Consumers are critical to the economic recovery because their spending accounts for more than two-thirds of all economic activity.
The consumer confidence reading could be "slightly above expectations" based on recent retail sales figures, Phillips said. Economists project a July reading of 49 for the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence index. The report is due at 10 a.m. EDT.
A better-than-expected reading on confidence could return some of the positive momentum to the market that had been seen the last two weeks amid strong earnings results, Phillips added.
Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 46, or 0.5 percent, to 9,024. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures declined 6.40, or 0.7 percent, to 973.50, while Nasdaq 100 index futures declined 9.00, or 0.6 percent, to 1,590.50.
Like consumer confidence, investors are also closely monitoring the housing market for signs of stability. Investors will get a reading on home prices in major metropolitan markets at 9 a.m. EDT when the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price index is released.
Moderating declines in prices could add support to the sector after recent sales figures data showed increased activity.
Mixed earnings results were also tempering investors' recent optimism. Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. said its second-quarter profit fell 32 percent. However, excluding a special charge tied to severance costs, earnings totaled 49 cents per share, a penny better than analyst expectations.
Independent oil refiner Valero Energy Corp. recorded a second-quarter loss amid weak demand and narrowing margins. Despite the loss of 50 cents per share, Valero beat analysts expectations by 2 cents per share. Revenue, which fell 51 percent to $17.9 billion, also topped projections.
Later in the week, companies including Visa Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Co. and Dow Chemical Co. are scheduled to report second-quarter results.
On Monday, stocks posted small gains after investors grappled with mixed earnings and economic reports.
Investors balanced disappointing earnings results from Verizon Communications Inc., Aetna Inc. and Corning Inc. against a report that showed new homes sales volume surged in June at the fastest rate in more than eight years.
While the Dow rose just 15.27, or 0.2 percent, to 9,108.51, it was the first time the index closed above 9,100 since Nov. 5. The slight gains come after a two-week surge that saw major indexes jump about 11 percent.
Bond prices were mixed Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.69 percent from 3.73 percent late Monday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.19 percent from 0.18 percent late Monday.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.01 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.8 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.4 percent, and France's CAC-40 declined 0.3 percent.
