Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, as investors eagerly awaited Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s first testimony on monetary policy to Congress later in the day.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.37% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.36% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.36% increase.
Ms. Yellen was to testify on monetary policy and the outlook for the economy before the House Financial Services Committee later Tuesday and the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.
The Fed chair was expected to reiterate that the bank will continue to unwind its stimulus program as long as the economic recovery continues as expected, and to repeat that the bank will keep interest rates at current record lows for some time to come.
The testimony is coming amid fresh concerns over the outlook for the recovery, following the weakest two-month stretch of U.S. job creation in three years in December and January.
Apple was expected to remain in focus, after the tech giant lost its latest bid to put a court-appointed antitrust monitor on hold. Shares in the iPhone maker were up 0.57% in pre-market trade.
Also in the tech sector, Google was likely to be active after strking a major advertising deal with comScore on Monday, which could help the company win more business from big brands. The news sent Google shares clinbing 0.60% in early trading.
Among auto stocks, Tesla gained 0.83% pre-market after the company said it wants its Model S to qualify for China’s electric car subsidies that the government said will remain more valuable than initially planned.
Meanwhile, General Motors edged down 0.06% in after-hour trade amid reports Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra, who started his job last month, could receive total compensation this year of USD14.4 million, which is USD10 million more than the U.S. automaker previously disclosed.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Omnicom, Mosaic and CVS Caremark, scheduled to report quarterly results later in the day.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1.01%, France’s CAC 40 gained 0.78%, Germany's DAX surged 1.29%, while Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.91%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.78%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index remained closed for a national holiday.