US pre-open: Futures point to flat open as US and China look to resolve 'core issues'
US futures were pointing to a broadly flat open on Tuesday following further conversations between officials in Washington and Beijing.
As of 1230 GMT, Dow and Nasdaq futures were up 0.03% and 0.01%, respectively, while S&P 500 futures were down 0.01%.
The Dow Jones closed 190.85 points higher on Monday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite hitting record highs during the same session, with market participants remaining largely focused on the long-running trade dispute between the US and China.
China's ministry of commerce claimed that vice-premier Liu He, spoke with Robert Lighthizer, US trade advisor, and US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin had spoken over the phone on Tuesday morning to discuss resolving several "core issues".
"Both sides discussed resolving core issues of common concern, reached consensus on how to resolve related problems [and] agreed to stay in contact over remaining issues for a phase one agreement," a statement read.
However, it was still not clear as to whether or not both sides will be able to reach a compromise before new US tariffs on Chinese goods were due to come into effect on 15 December.
CMC Markets analyst David Madden said: "It was reported the conversation entailed 'resolving core issues'. It would appear the talks are at the finer details stage, which is a good sign, but nothing can be taken for granted."
On the data front, advanced economic indicators for October, the October international trade deficit and the Philadelphia Fed's November non-manufacturing index will be published at 1330 GMT.
The Richmond Fed survey and Dallas Fed services data will be posted at 1500 GMT.
The National Home Price Index for September, new home sales for October and consumer confidence figures for November were also scheduled for release throughout the day.
In corporate news, Best Buy, Dollar Tree, Autodesk and Dell will all report earnings on Tuesday.