US Stock Futures Point To Flat Open Tuesday Ahead Of CPI, Core CPI, Industrial Production, NAHB Housing Market Index, Earnings Reports

U.S. stock index futures point to a flat open on Tuesday, as investors will choose to wait and watch a raft of economic indicators scheduled to be released during the day, and quarterly earnings reports from Wall Street majors such as Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO), Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS).

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.06 percent, while futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 Index were up 0.01 percent and those on the Nasdaq 100 Index were up 0.10 percent.

Investors are expected to focus on the Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index, or CPI, for June to be published on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. EDT. The CPI, which measures the change in the price of goods and services from the consumer's perspective, is estimated to have registered a 0.4 percent gain in June, in comparison to a moderate 0.1 percent gain in May. The Core CPI for June, also released by the Department of Labor on Tuesday, which measures the changes in the price of goods and services, excluding food and energy, is likely to remain flat at 0.2 percent.

Investors will also focus on the Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization report to be published at 9.15 a.m. EDT. Industrial production, which measures the change in the total inflation-adjusted value of output produced by manufacturers, mines and utilities, is expected to show a reading of 0.2 percent in June against a ‘zero’ percent growth recorded in May. Industrial production had declined by 0.4 percent in April.

The capacity utilization rate, the percentage of production capacity being utilized in the U.S, is expected to nudge up to 77.7 percent in June from 77.6 percent registered in the previous month.

The National Association of Home Builders, or NAHB, housing market index is expected to remain unchanged at 52 points in July. The index had recorded a sharp gain of 8 points -- the largest gain since 2002 -- to 52 points in June. A reading above 50 indicates a favorable outlook on home sales, while a reading below 50 indicates a negative outlook.

In addition, investors are also expected to keep a close watch on corporate earnings reports as Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and Coca-Cola are expected to post earnings reports before the opening bell, while companies such as CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX) and Yahoo are scheduled to report earnings after market hours.

In Europe, the ZEW Economic Sentiment Index for Germany, which measures the six-month economic outlook for the country among investors and analysts, clocked in at 32.8 for July, beating expectations of a 31.8 reading, and up from the previous reading of 30.6 in June.

The CPI for the 17-nation euro zone stayed flat month-on-month, but matched expectations of a 0.1 percent reading in June. Core CPI too remained flat month-on-month in June, but matched expectations at 1.2 percent. Annual CPI for the euro zone too rose in line with expectations - rising by 1.6 percent year-on-year in June, and up from 1.4 percent in May.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index was trading down 0.30 percent, London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.13 percent, Germany's DAX-30 was down 0.26 percent and France's CAC-40 was trading down 0.41 percent.

In Asia, most markets were up, tracking gains on Wall Street, which ended at record highs on Monday after better-than-expected earnings from Citigroup Inc. In China, the Shanghai Composite index ended up 0.31 percent while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended up 0.04 percent.

Japan’s Nikkei ended up 0.64 percent and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 closed up 0.1 percent, while South Korea’s KOSPI Composite index ended down 0.47 percent.

In India, the benchmark BSE Sensex was trading down 0.89 percent in late-afternoon trade, after the Reserve Bank of India, on Monday night, raised key interest rates to curb volatility in the Indian rupee, giving rise to concerns it would hurt growth in Asia's third-largest economy.