Investing.com – U.S. futures were higher on Tuesday, as hope that the U.S. and China will tone down trade hostilities pushed the S&P and Nasdaq near all-time highs.
The S&P 500 futures rose 5 points, or 0.18%, to 2,863.75 as of 6:50 AM ET (10:50 GMT) while Dow futures were up 54 points, or 0.21%, to 25,812.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures increased 20 points, or 0.28%,to 7,407.75.
U.S. and Chinese officials are expected to meet in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday to discuss trade disagreements, shortly before the latest round of trade tariffs go into effect.
However, U.S. President Donald Trump told Reuters that he does not expect much progress from the talks, dampening expectations that an agreement will be reached before the tariff deadline.
In earnings news, a handful of retailers are expected to report their earnings before the opening bell, including Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) and TJ Maxx parent company TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX).
Technology stocks were among the top gainers in pre-market trading, with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) rising 1.82% and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) up 0.23%. Chinese e-commerce company Jd.Com Inc Adr (NASDAQ:JD) surged 2.14% while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) gained 0.66%.
Elsewhere Sodastream International Ltd (NASDAQ:SODA) fell 0.35% while Perrigo Co (NYSE:PRGO) dipped 0.70%.
In Europe stocks were mostly higher. Germany’s DAX rose 89 points or 0.73% while in France the CAC 40 increased 41 points or 0.78% and in London, the FTSE 100 was down 29 points or 0.39%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 gained 23 points or 0.69% while Spain’s IBEX 35 surged 102 points or 1.08%.
In commodities, gold futures rose 0.49% to $1,200.40 a troy ounce while crude oil futures inched up 0.03% to $65.44 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, fell 0.25% to 95.44.