US Stock Futures Slightly Lower Ahead Of Ford Earnings, Consumer Confidence Data

US stock futures are slightly lower this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from Ford Motor Co

and consumer confidence data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 9 points to 13,823.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 2.80 points to 1,494.30. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 5.50 points to 2,732.00. US stocks closed mostly lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.10% to 13,881.93, the S&P 500 index falling 0.18% to 1,500.18 and the Nasdaq 100 index climbing 0.15% to 3,154.30. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for November will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while data on consumer confidence for January will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Ford Motor is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.26 per share on revenue of $32.96 billion. Boston Scientific

is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.11 per share on revenue of $1.76 billion. Amazon.com

is estimated to post its Q4 earnings at $0.28 per share on revenue of $22.27 billion. Pfizer

is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $14.40 billion. DR Horton

is estimated to report its Q1 earnings at $0.14 per share on revenue of $1.10 billion. United States Steel

is projected to post a Q4 loss at $0.75 per share on revenue of $4.35 billion. JetBlue Airways

is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.02 per share on revenue of $1.22 billion. Tupperware Brands

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $1.68 per share on revenue of $707.02 million. Eli Lilly and Company

is projected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.79 per share on revenue of $5.81 billion. Harley-Davidson

is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.32 per share on revenue of $976.71 million. Corning

is estimated to report its Q4 earnings at $0.33 per share on revenue of $2.07 billion. Yahoo!

reported upbeat fourth-quarter profit. VMware

announced its plans to lower 900 jobs. VMware reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings, but issued a downbeat first-quarter forecast. European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.01%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.14%, German DAX 30 Index fell 0.09% and French CAC 40 Index declined 0.26%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.39%, China's Shanghai Composite surging 0.53% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 1.07%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.07% and India's Sensex dropped 0.56%. The ICE dollar index (DXY) rose 0.04% to trade at 79.80, up from 79.790 in North America late on Monday. The euro dropped 0.21% against the dollar to trade at $1.3427. The dollar fell 0.43% against the Japanese yen to ¥90.46, down from ¥90.76.