U.S. stock futures flat; debt talks, data in focus Case-Shiller, new-home sales, confidence data due later

By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures were little changed Tuesday as markets geared up for a busy day of earnings from blue chips like Ford Motor Co. and 3M Co. and a clutch of economic data, while keeping an eye on debt-ceiling talks.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJ1U +0.21%  were flat at 12,549, while those on the Standard & Poor’s 500 index SP1U +0.21%  were nearly unchanged at 1,333.

Futures on the Nasdaq 100 index ND1U +0.15%  fell 0.5 point to 2,423.

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U.S. debt-ceiling standoff continues

President Obama urged Congress to raise the nation's debt ceiling. As the Aug. 2 deadline to reach a compromise looms, WSJ's David Wessel says we're one day closer to watching the American political system drive the car over the edge of a cliff.

The dollar remained lower against most major rivals, as investors eyed the gridlock in talks to raise the U.S. debt ceiling.

U.S. President Barack Obama late Monday praised a plan proposed by Senate Democrats and called for a compromise on cutting the deficit and raising the debt ceiling in the next few days. Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner said Congress should back a rival plan proposed by Republicans.

Just days are left before the U.S. begins defaulting on its debt obligations if a deal to raise the debt ceiling isn’t agreed.

The dollar index DXY -0.65% , which tracks the dollar’s performance against a basket of six other currencies, fell 0.6% to 73.693.

“Markets seem to be expressing all of their fear through the currency, and still don’t know what to do about Treasurys with the U.S. 10-year yield bobbing around the 3.0% level for the last few days,” said Richard Kelly, head of European rates and FX research at TD Securities in a note.

“President Obama’s speech last night didn’t do much to clarify the outlook, and markets will be headline-watching again today for developments in the U.S.,” he said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -0.70%  fell 88.36 points, or 0.7%, to close at 12,592.80 Monday, after touching a low of 12,536.19 earlier in the session.

Economic data could act as somewhat of a distraction with Case-Shiller home prices for May due at 9 a.m. Eastern time. Then at 10 a.m. Eastern, new home sales for June and the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence survey for July will be released.

There are plenty of earnings for markets to focus on, with Ford F +2.51%  results due ahead of Wall Street’s open and Amazon.com Inc. AMZN -1.40%  expected after the close.

Among others due to report ahead of the bell are 3M MMM -1.58% , Lockheed Martin Corp. LMT -0.38%  , T. Rowe Price Group Inc. TROW -0.58%  , United States Steel Corp.X -1.16%  and United Parcel Service Inc. UPS -0.15% .

Shares of Texas Instruments Inc. TXN -0.98%  could be in focus after the company reported a second-quarter drop in profit late Monday, owing to “lukewarm” demand from back-to-school and holiday shoppers.

Broadcom Corp. BRCM +8.85%  shares could move after its earnings beat forecasts and its revenue forecast was also ahead of expectations.

European stocks drifted into negative territory after initial gains as shares of BP PLCBP -2.18%   UK:BP -2.42%  and UBS AG UBS -2.75%   CH:UBSN -1.94%  both fell on earnings disappointment, pressuring the Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.28% .

Gold futures for August delivery fell $2 to $1,610.20 an ounce, while crude oil for September delivery rose 18 cents to $99.38 a barrel.