Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures edged higher Tuesday, continuing the positive start to the week, as investors await comments from St. Louis Fed President James Bullard ahead of key inflation data.
By 06:50 ET (10:50 GMT), the Dow futures contract was up 10 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 futures traded 5 points, or 0.1% higher, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 23 points, or 0.2%.
The three benchmark indices closed higher Monday, snapping a three-day decline, after a series of comments from Federal Reserve policymakers sparked hopes that the U.S. central bank's campaign of interest rate hikes may soon be reaching a conclusion, albeit after a potential increase later this month.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average gained over 200 points, or 0.6%, while both the broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite rose 0.2%.
Bullard scheduled to speak
The parade of central bank officials continues Tuesday in advance of their quiet period before the Fed meeting, with St. Louis Fed President James Bullard scheduled to speak later in the session.
Fed policymakers started the week by hinting that the end of the U.S. central bank’s tightening cycle is near, as investors will be interested to see if Bullard, who has tended to be one of the more hawkish members of the Federal Open Market Committee, continues this theme.
U.S. June CPI looms large
The U.S. small business confidence climbed to a seven-month high in June as pessimism about the economic outlook diminished sharply and sales expectations improved, but focus this week will be on the June U.S. consumer price index on Wednesday, which could influence the thinking of Fed officials.
Although the headline figure is expected to cool to 3.1% annually, the slowest increase since March 2021, the core reading, which is closely watched by Federal Reserve policymakers, is seen rising by 5.0% year-on-year and 0.3% monthly.
Amazon starts its annual 'Prime Day'
In corporate news, Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) launches its two-day shopping event, known as its 'Prime Day', at which the e-commerce giant is set to roll out deep discounts in order to entice U.S. consumers.
Analysts at Bank of America suggested that 'Prime Day' could generate total gross merchandise value of $11.95 billion, which would represent a 12% year-on-year surge.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will also be in the spotlight after the iPhone maker opened a store on the WeChat messaging app, in a bid by the California-based tech giant to boost its retail presence in China.
Crude rises on weak dollar
Oil prices rose Tuesday, helped by the U.S. dollar falling to a two-month low, with this weakness making crude cheaper for foreign buyers, amid growing expectations that the Fed was close to ending its rate hike cycle.
By 06:50 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.5% higher at $73.33 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.4% to $77.99.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,941.25/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.1005.
(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)