NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Investors will be weighing reports of a number of large deals and another record low for the dollar when they begin stock trading Tuesday.
U.S. stock futures were slightly higher, suggesting a modest gain for U.S. stocks.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Johnson & Johnson (Research) is in advanced talks for a $24 billion acquisition of Guidant (Research), a move that would give J&J a strong presence in the defibrillators and pacemakers business, as well as giving it a larger share of the stent market.
Shares of Dow component J&J lost about 2 percent in Frankfurt trading early Tuesday on the report.
Another Dow component figuring in deal talk is computer manufacturer IBM (Research), which reportedly is close to selling a majority stake in its PC business to Chinese computer maker Lenovo Group for about $2 billion. Shares of IBM were slightly lower in European trading.
In one deal that has been confirmed, Gambro AB, the Swedish operators of kidney dialysis clinics, said Tuesday that it will sell its U.S. clinics to DaVita (Research), the No. 2 operator of U.S. dialysis clinics, for about $3 billion.
Pressure on the markets could come from the continuing slide in the dollar. The euro rose to a record $1.3469 in trading early Tuesday before easing back to $1.3465. The dollar also slipped against the yen.
U.S. markets closed mixed in trading Monday, with the Nasdaq posting a narrow gain in the face of declines for the Dow and Standard & Poor's 500.
Major Asian markets closed lower on concerns about the weak dollar, while European markets were higher in morning trading.
Oil prices, which rallied Monday after last week's sharp selloff, were lower again early Tuesday. U.S. crude futures lost 17 cents to $42.71 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent oil futures declined 29 cents to $39.36 a barrel in London.
Bond prices fell as the yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.24 percent in early Tuesday trading.
A government report showed business productivity grew slightly more slowly in the third quarter than the original estimate. It gained 1.8 percent, rather than the 1.9 percent initial estimate. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast that the third-quarter productivity gain should edge up to 2 percent.
At 3 p.m. ET Tuesday there will be a reading amount of consumer debt. It is forecast to have fallen to $6 billion in October from $9.8 billion in September.
In corporate news, investors will get a chance to get a closer look at some leading tech companies that are set to hold analyst conferences Tuesday. Top executives from Cisco Systems (Research), Hewlett-Packard (Research) and Intel (Research) are set to address conferences during the trading day, while chip manufacturer Texas Instruments (Research) holds its own mid-quarter update just after the market close.
Last week, a bullish mid-quarter update from Intel helped lift tech stocks.
Consumer products manufacturer Colgate-Palmolive (Research) announced it would cut about 12 percent of its worldwide staff of 37,000 as part of a four-year restructuring plan. Shares of Colgate climbed 71 cents to $47 in pre-market trading on Inet following the announcement.
Several leading insurance industry stocks could be hit from a jury verdict late Monday that the attacks that destroyed the twin towers of the World Trade Center were two separate events, doubling to $2.2 billion the damages leaseholder Larry Silverstein can collect from insurers. Among the insurers who could be hit are units of Allianz AG (Research), St. Paul Travelers Cos. (Research), and Hartford Financial Services Group (Research).
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