A host of corporate earnings reports are in focus Tuesday.
Goldman Sachs said its first-quarter earnings fell from a year earlier, but were better than many analysts had anticipated thanks to aggressive cost-cutting and better-than-expected investment banking and trading revenues.
Goldman earned $2.1 billion, or $3.92 per share, during the quarter. In the year-ago period, which was generally stronger for investment banks' trading and banking activity, Goldman earned $4.38 per share, excluding a one-time cost for buying back preferred stock.
The Wall Street investment bank also said it would raise its quarterly dividend to 46 cents per share from 35 cents.
Coca-Cola, the world's largest soft drink maker, also reported quarterly earnings, saying its first-quarter earnings were $2.05 billion, or 89 cents per share, up from $1.90 billion, or 82 cents per share, a year earlier. The world's largest soft drink maker said revenue rose 6 percent to $11.14 billion.
Yahoo is also due to unveil earnings, but the report may be overshadowed by comments from its new CEO Scott Thompson, who is expected to lay out his vision for the struggling web pioneer.
Intel is expected to post a seasonal dip in second-quarter earnings, seen at $0.50 per share compared to $0.56 per share one year earlier.
Johnson & Johnson reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings but global company revenue fell slightly on anemic sales of medical devices and consumer medicines -- businesses that have been hit by costly recalls in the past two years.
Groundbreaking on homes fell unexpectedly in March, but permits for future construction rose to their highest level in 3 1/2 years, Commerce Department data showed.
Housing starts slipped 5.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 654,000 units, the government said. February's starts were revised down to a 694,000-unit pace from a previously reported 698,000 unit rate.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts little changed at a 705,000-unit rate.
IBM Corp reports earnings after the bell on Tuesday and investors are hoping strong software demand will make for a repeat of last year's first-quarter performance, when the company raised its full year forecast.
European stock markets edged higher, as prices cheapened by a steep month-long sell-off attracted investors, although concerns about Spain's finances kept the overall mood cautious and volumes low.
Regulators on Monday approved the country's first liquefied natural gas export plant in nearly 50 years. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval paves the way for construction to begin at Cheniere Energy's LNG plant at Sabine Pass, Louisiana.
Chesapeake Energy Corp's oilfield services unit filed to raise up to $862.5 million in an initial public offering of its Class A common stock as the natural gas company looks to fund its heavy spending.
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