Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately lower open on Tuesday, although the release of upbeat economic reports from China lent some support to market sentiment.
Ahead of the open, the Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.10% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.15% fall, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.19% decline.
Sentiment improved after data released earlier showed that China’s final HSBC Purchasing Managers Index came in at 49.4, down from a preliminary reading of 49.7, but higher then April's reading of 48.1.
A separate report showed that activity in the country's services sector rose to a six-month high in May.
The tech sector was expected to be active, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), down 0.56% in pre-market trade, introduced on Monday a new operating system for its Mac computer, called Yosemite. The company also announced the iOS 8 for the iPhone and iPad.
Separately, Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL), whose shares jumped 1% in early trading, was said to be planning to invest more than $1 billion in a series of internet access satellites around the globe.
The tech giant was also set to be in the spotlight amid reports its services in China face blockages as the government tightens Internet controls ahead of the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown.
Among pharmaceutical companies, Mylan (NASDAQ:MYL) was slated to move after saying it reached a settlement with Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) over sales of a generic version of the Celebrex painkiller. Mylan said it would begin selling the drug, Celecoxib, before December.
In the auto sector, General Motors (NYSE:GM) was up 0.11% in late trading after the U.S. Center for Auto Safety reported that the company filed 2,004 reports on injuries and deaths stemming from accidents in cars that have been recalled for ignition-related defects.
Elsewhere, shares in Broadcom (NASDAQ:BRCM) edged up 0.19% in extended trade, after surging over 9% on Monday when it announced that it was looking to sell or wind-down its cellular baseband business.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Dollar General (NYSE:DG), scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 edged down 0.15%, France’s CAC 40 slipped 0.11%, Germany's DAX fell 0.20%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.35%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 0.91%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.66%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on factory orders.