US pre-open: Stocks set for sluggish start

Wall Street's main averages were seen starting the day in lacklustre fashion amid a dearth of fresh market moving news, with investors having largely brushed off weak trade numbers out of China overnight.

As of 1207 BST, futures markets were calling for a flat start on the Dow Jones Industrials at 22,062.00, with the S&P 500 seen slipping 1.25 points to 2,476.25 and the Nasdaq 100 falling 1.50 points to 5,932.50.

"The quiet summer period is very much upon us and markets are currently trading relatively flat as a result on Tuesday. Oil continues to be a little lively though as we await [American Petroleum Institute] inventory numbers later in the session and the conclusion of a two day meeting in Abu Dhabi," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.

For his part, Jim Reid at Deutsche Bank pointed out to clients how they were living "in exceptional times". In his opinion, all any investor needed to know was that the US S&P 500 on Monday saw a 13th consecutive session of gains (or losses) of less than 0.3 percentage points.

That, Reid pointed out, was the longest such streak since 1927.

Acting as a backdrop, data released on Tuesday morning revealed sharply weaker trade flows into and out of China in July.

Exports from Asia's largest economy slowed from a 17.3% year-on-year clip in June to 11.2% for July (consensus: 14.8%). Imports fared just as poorly, with purchases from overseas slowing from an annualised pace of 23.1% to 14.7% (consensus: 22.3%).

Back in the States, the National Federation of Independent Businesses's small business activity index rose from a reading of 103.6 for June to 105.2 in July (consensus: 103.5).

To take note of, according to Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics the details of Tuesday's report were consistent with a recovery in core CPI inflation in the States.

Still on the economic calendar for Tuesday, the results of the JOLTS hiring survey for July were set for release at 1500 BST.

Shares in Michael Kors rocketed after telling investors like-for-like sales only dropped by 5.9% over the first three months of the year (consensus: -9.2%) and guiding higher for the second quarter.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals were on the up despite posting a second quarter loss and lowering it sales guidance for 2017.

Shares in pharmacy chain CVS Health Corp. were also on the front foot after its first quarter profit and sales numbers topped analysts' forecasts.

Sealed Air on the other hand may come under pressure after delivering lower than expected adjusted second quarter earnings per share of 35 cents.