Investing.com - U.S. futures rose Tuesday morning, pointing to a higher opening on Wall Street as geopolitical uncertainty rattled European stocks.
The S&P 500 futures increased three points or 0.13% as of 6:09 AM ET (11:09 GMT) while Dow futures were up 35 points or 0.16%. Tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures rose 12 points or 0.20%.
In pre-market trading, consumer goods firm Unilever (LON:ULVR) was among the top gainers, jumping 1.419% after it pulled an advertisement for its Dove soap that was criticized for being racist. European phone company Vodafone (NASDAQ:VOD) rose 1.14% while resource firm BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) increased 1.52%.
Financial stocks were among the hardest hit before the morning bell. Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) inched down 0.12%. The U.S. arm of Spanish bank Banco Santander (MC:SAN) fell 1.331% as the Catalan vote for independence continues to drag down Spanish stocks. The region is expected to declare its independence on Tuesday.
Meanwhile financial giant HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HSBC) increased 1.59%.
In economic news, the Redbook index, which measures sales growth of retailers, comes out at 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT). Investors will also be listening to Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari, for any hints at a rate hike ahead of the release of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes, which come out on Wednesday.
Elsewhere, European stocks dragged down amid Spanish political concerns.
Spain’s IBEX 35 slumped 0.99 % while EURO STOXX fell 0.21%. Germany’s DAX decreased 0.11% and France’s CAC 40 inched forward 0.02%. In London, the FTSE 100 rose 0.21%.
Gold futures increased 0.66% to $1,293.33 an ounce while crude oil rallied 1.17% to $50.13 a barrel amid a Saudi Arabian cut to oil production. The US dollar index future, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, decreased to 93.20.