U.S. stock index futures suggested a slightly higher market open on Tuesday, as optimism about the upcoming corporate earnings season grew despite high commodity prices.
In company news, Computer Sciences Corp. rose before the opening bell after it said it will explore strategic alternatives, including a possible sale. The computer services company said it has been approached by potential suitors.
The quarterly earnings season kicks off next week with results from aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. Earnings of S&P 500 companies in the first quarter are projected to rise about 11 percent over the same period a year ago. Copper prices were within striking distance of a record high. Oil was down slightly on Tuesday, but still holding above $66 per barrel.
"There's a tremendous amount of cross-currents going on. We have oil and metals going higher, but on the other hand we're about to enter earnings season and there haven't been a lot of preannouncements, so it bodes fairly well," said Barry Ritholtz, fund manager at Ritholtz Capital Partners.
S&P 500 futures were up 0.80 point, just barely above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.
Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 6 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.25 point.
Investment banks could come under pressure as Merrill Lynch & Co. said on Monday it will take a $1.2 billion first-quarter charge, $850 million more than it had expected, as it switches to new accounting rules for employee stock compensation and modifies existing stock awards. Most investment banks have recently declared such charges in the same range as the initial Merrill estimate of $350 million.