By Kate Gibson and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures gained Tuesday as the dollar’s dip propelled commodities higher and after a report showing U.S. home prices gained in July, with data on consumer confidence ahead.
“The dollar has turned south and the euro is gaining, so we’re seeing a boost in commodity prices, which should help equity markets,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital.
Stock-index futures added a bit to gains after the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite rose 1.6% in July, its fourth monthly increase.
“The housing market has improved but needs to be put into the proper perspective of how low a level it’s bouncing from,” emailed Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJZ2 +0.10% rose 34 points to 13,523, while those for Standard & Poor’s 500 index SPZ2 +0.25% rose 3.7 points to 1,455.10.
Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index NDZ2 +0.06% rose 11.25 points to 2,849.50.
At 10 a.m. Eastern, the Conference Board will release the consumer-confidence index for September, and at the same time, the Federal Housing Finance Agency will release July home-price index.
Commodities gained and the dollar D +0.58% edged higher. Crude oil for November delivery CLX2 +0.67% rose 86 cents to $92.79 a barrel, while gold for December delivery GCZ2 +0.53% added $11.10 to $1,775.70 an ounce.
U.S. stocks finished lower on Monday, as worries about Europe and global economic growth weighed. The S&P 500 index SPX +0.36% tallied a third day of losses, off 3.26 points, or 0.2%, to 1,456.89. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.38% fell 20.55 points, or 0.2%, to 13,558.92. Read Spain: What investors need to know.
The Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP +0.09% was flat, while Asia stocks traded mostly weaker on Tuesday. The Shanghai Composite Index CN:000001 -0.19% fell 0.4%, languishing around midyear lows.
Caterpillar, Carnival
Shares of Caterpillar Inc. CAT -1.90% fell in the premarket a day after the equipment maker said it expects earnings of $12 to $15 a share in 2015. Caterpillar had said it expects to earn $15 to $20 a share for that year. See: Caterpillar in After Hours.
Paychex Inc. PAYX -2.27% fell after the provider of payroll-and-benefits-outsourcing services posted first-quarter results late Monday. Read more on Paychex results .
Yahoo Inc. YHOO -0.13% Chief Executive Marissa Mayer is expected to deliver a blueprint for bolstering the business to employees Tuesday, reported AllThingsD, which cited an internal memo sent out by her. Read about her memo on AllThingsD.
Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.
Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.
