US pre-open: Stocks little changed ahead of the bell

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were little changed ahead of the bell on Tuesday as the Dow Jones tries to build upon its record close. As of 1215 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.02%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.04% and 0.02% weaker, respectively.

The Dow closed 61.29 points higher on Monday, extending gains recorded in the previous session.

In focus early on Tuesday, China's central bank unveiled a raft of cuts to reserve requirements and lending rates, including for existing home loans, as it tried to stimulate the country's stagnant economy. The People's Bank of China said it would cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves - known as reserve requirement ratios (RRR) - by 50 basis points and also cut a key policy rate by 0.2 percentage points to 1.5%, while interest rates on existing mortgages will also be reduced by 0.5 percentage points on average.

Scope Markets' Joshua Mahony said: "Looking ahead, US markets are expected to open in the green, as the prospect of a flood of liquidity in the Chinese economy helps bolster prospective demand for US goods."

On the US macro front, July's housing price index will be published at 1400 BST, while September consumer confidence figures and the Richmond Fed's manufacturing index will follow at 1500 BST.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com