Investing.com - Wall Street futures pointed to a flat open on Tuesday as investors looked ahead to a speech from Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen and data on the U.S. consumer.
The blue-chip Dow futures inched up 4 points, or 0.02% by 6:48AM ET (10:48GMT), the S&P 500 futures dropped 1 point, or 0.02%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 8 points, or 0.13%.
Yellen is scheduled to give a speech on “Inflation, Uncertainty and Monetary Policy” to the annual meeting of the National Association of Business Economics at 12:45PM ET (16:45GMT).
Although the topic would normally be eye-catching, less than a week has passed since Yellen’s post-policy decision press conference.
At that appearance, the Fed chief downplayed the significance of the weak core inflation data as the central bank set the start date for the reduction of its balance sheet and signaled that an additional rate hike this year remained appropriate.
On Monday, New York Fed president William Dudley, generally considered to be closely aligned with Yellen’s way of thinking, reiterated his view that rate hikes would continue gradually because the economy is solid and factors depressing inflation are "fading".
Among other appearances from policymakers, Chicago Fed president Charles Evans will present opening remarks at a symposium at will present opening remarks at a symposium at 9:30AM ET (13:30GMT), Fed governor Lael Brainard will speak on labor market disparities at 10:30AM ET (14:30GMT) and Atlanta Fed chief Raphael Bostic will deliver a speech on the economy and monetary policy at 12:30PM ET (16:30GMT).
Also on the economic calendar, market participants will digest the Conference Board’s reading on consumer confidence for September and August new home sales, both released at 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT).
Meanwhile, oil prices lost ground on Tuesday as investors locked in profit after gaining roughly 20% from their June lows, meeting the definition of a bull market, as data showed strong compliance from major producers with their supply cut agreement and as talk grows of a likely extension of the deal.
Turkey's threat on Monday to cut off a major pipeline that carries oil from Iraq's Kurdistan region to the outside world provided further support.
U.S. crude futures fell 0.40% to $52.01 by 6:49AM ET (10:49GMT), while Brent oil traded down 0.65% to $58.05.
Elsewhere, global stock markets attempted to stabilize on Tuesday, one day after suffering heavy losses amid an escalating war of words between North Korea and the U.S.
In Europe, shares drifted between gains and losses in directionless mid-morning trade.
Earlier, Asian shares closed on a relatively mixed note, with benchmarks in Tokyo and Seoul edging lower, while Shanghai ended higher.