Stocks set for a flat open

Dumbest Moments in Business 2009...midyear edition

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a nearly flat open Tuesday as the concerns about the global economic recovery continued ahead of the G8 summit and the initial second-quarter corporate results.

At 7:30 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were slightly higher.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners, said the market was operating in a "tight trading range" ahead of earnings reports.

Dow component Alcoa (AA, Fortune 500) kicks off the second-quarter reporting period on Wednesday, but most reports aren't due until later in the month.

For now, Cardillo said that trading volume was light, indicating a "lack of interest" and a "wait and see attitude" among investors.

Cardillo said the biggest risk from light volume is that the markets could suddenly and dramatically show an "over-exaggerated" knee-jerk reaction to market-related events.

Stocks cut earlier losses Monday, ending mixed as a rally in select blue chips outweighed worries about the economic recovery.

Asian markets reflected the global jitteriness Tuesday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index ending down 0.3%. But there were some modest gains in European indexes.

Economic concerns will form a backdrop for the G8 summit of the world's leading industrialized nations that begins Wednesday in L'Aquila, Italy. President Obama will be joined by leaders of Japan, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Russia.

Investors will also be looking to big companies' quarterly results for an indication of where the economy is headed.

Oil and money: The price of a barrel of oil reversed its downward course and rose 78 cents to $64.83. The dollar was lower versus the euro, but higher against the yen and British pound.