Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, as banks moved sharply higher in the pre-market and positive earnings from Nike supported sentiment.
The blue-chip Dow futures gained 86 points, or 0.36%, by 6:55AM ET (10:55GMT), the S&P 500 futures rose 7 points, or 0.27%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded up 22 points, or 0.30%.
Several U.S. banks were registering strong gains in pre-market trade on Friday as they passed tougher Federal Reserve stress tests whose results were published after the prior session’s close.
Although the Fed forced some of Wall Street’s top banks to rein in ambitious plans for pouring out cash to shareholders, it still implied a record payout to investors.
The nation’s four largest lenders - JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and Citigroup (NYSE:C) - all said they will distribute more than $110 billion through dividends and stock buybacks.
Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) were blocked from boosting total payouts.
Of the 18 domestic and foreign banks that faced the qualitative section of the exam, Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) was the only one to receive an objection.
Meanwhile, positive earnings news also boosted buying on Friday. Shares of Nike (NYSE:NKE) soared 9.5% in pre-market trade on Friday after the iconic athletic wear company reported quarterly sales of $9.79 billion, beating analysts' estimates of $9.41 billion, thanks to new product launches.
Nike also announced after Thursday’s close a four-year $15 billion buyback plan.
In other positive earnings news, KB Home (NYSE:KBH) jumped 8.6% in pre-market trading as the homebuilder reported quarterly results that beat on the top and bottom lines.
On the economic front, investors prepared for a slew of data to be released on Friday.
A regional U.S. manufacturing report, consumer sentiment data and crucial update on the Fed's preferred measure of inflation will round off this week's release of top-tier economic data on Friday.
The Core Price Consumer Expenditure (PCE) Index due 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT) – the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation – is expected to show 0.2% growth for May and 1.9% growth year-on-year, up slightly from 1.8% the prior month.
The PCE deflator data, a measure of inflation based on changes in personal consumption, will also be in focus after rising 2% in April.
The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) due 9:45AM ET (13:45GMT) is expected to show a reading of 60.1, down from a prior reading of 62.7. A reading above 50 indicates expansion of the manufacturing sector; a reading below indicates contraction.
Michigan’s consumer sentiment index due 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT) is forecast to show a reading of 99.1 roughly unchanged from the previous month, while consumer expectations data will also be in focus.
Economic data so far this week has played second fiddle to trade-related headlines but a slowdown in U.S. economic growth reported Thursday weighed on sentiment somewhat.
While waiting for the data, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.43% to trade at 94.59 by 6:58AM ET (10:58GMT), paring weekly gains to just 0.4%.