Stock index futures were slightly higher on Tuesday on news that Ben Bernanke will be renominated as chairman of the Federal Reserve and ahead of key consumer confidence and housing data.

U.S. President Barack Obama will renominate Ben Bernanke for a second term as chairman of the Fed on Tuesday, a senior administration official said.

The renomination is being viewed as a positive by U.S. markets, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

S&P 500 futures rose 1.6 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 17 points while Nasdaq 100 futures added 2 points.

Investors will be watching the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. Home Price Index for June, to be released at 9 a.m. EDT, and the FHFA House Price Index for June and consumer confidence for August, both due at 10 a.m. EDT.

Cisco Systems Inc said it won a deal to supply edge routers to Telstra Corp , Australia's biggest phone company, and that it was boosting the capacity of the routers to help customers more easily handle web video traffic.

Citigroup Inc has substantially boosted offers for mortgage modification this month after the U.S. government asked banks to speed the process and help prevent foreclosures, the bank's top mortgage executive said.

The White House and U.S. Congress will issue separate budget estimates Tuesday that could slow President Obama's domestic policy proposals as he faces increased skepticism among lawmakers.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> edged higher by 3.32 points, or 0.03 percent, to end at 9,509.28. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> inched down just 0.56 of a point, or 0.05 percent, to 1,025.57 and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> shed 2.92 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,017.98.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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