Stocks poised for early gains

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures rose slightly Tuesday, as investors mulled over the latest data on home prices and await a reading on consumer confidence.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all modestly higher ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

U.S. stocks ended the day lower Monday, as investors pulled back after pushing Wall Street to four-month highs last week. Trading was choppy and analysts say stocks are in for a volatile week.

Investors have a lot to contend with, weighing economic data against a backdrop of uncertainty about the recovery.

Mid-term elections are just five weeks away, Congress is debating whether to extend the Bush tax cuts and the Federal Reserve has said it's prepared to stimulate the economy if needed. With all that swirling about, investors are taking their daily cues strictly from the latest headlines rather than looking at broad, long-term trends, said Zahid Siddique, an associate portfolio manager at Gabelli Equity Trust.

Before the bell, Case-Shiller's latest home price index revealed ongoing strife in housing markets. Investors will be also watching for a reading on consumer confidence and a Census report on poverty levels at the state and local level, later Tuesday morning.

"Investors have currently become data dependent," he said. "We see some uncertainty over the markets over the next three to four weeks. The near term is all about data, which we think will come in mixed and is also going to keep investors on the sidelines."

Economy: The Case-Shiller 20-city home price index showed home prices increased for the fifth straight month in July, but the rate of growth slowed.

Prices inched up 0.6% in July compared with June, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index. On a year-over-year basis, prices rose 3.2% compared with July 2009. Experts polled by Briefing.com had forecast a year-over-year rise of 3.3%.

The Consumer Confidence Index comes out at 10 a.m. ET, and is expected to show consumer morale fell to 52.9 in September, down from 53.5 in August. The index is hovering painfully low, falling far below 90 -- a level that typically indicates a stable economy.

World markets: After falling about 1% earlier in the morning, European stocks made up for some of those losses in mid-day trading. Britain's FTSE 100 was down 0.2%. France's CAC 40 was flat, and Germany's DAX rose 0.1%.

European stocks had tumbled in the early going, after a Spanish newspaper pointed out that Moody's deadline for reviewing its investment grade -- AAA credit rating for Spain -- runs out this week. The country could be facing a downgrade due to its sovereign debt troubles.

Asian markets ended the session in negative territory. Japan's Nikkei and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong each lost at least 1%. The Shanghai Composite fell 0.6%.

Companies: BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIMM) on Monday unveiled the PlayBook tablet, its answer to Apple's (AAPL, Fortune 500) iPad.

Shares of RIM rose 1.8% Tuesday morning, but the stock is down nearly 30% this year due to concerns that the company is falling behind Apple, as well as smartphone makers using Google's (GOOG, Fortune 500) Android operating system.

Shares of Walgreens (WAG, Fortune 500) surged more than 7% in pre-market trading after the drugstore chain reported its fiscal fourth quarter revenue rose 7.4% to a record $16.9 billion, driven by strong prescription drug sales. The company's quarterly earnings were $470 million, or 49 cents per diluted share, up 7.8% from the year-ago quarter.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, the Japanese yen and British pound.

Gold futures for December delivery fell $7 to $1,291.60 an ounce.

The price of crude oil for November delivery fell 58 cents to $75.94 per barrel.

Bonds: Prices for U.S. Treasurys fell, with the yield on the 10-year note rising to 2.54% from 2.53% late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The government is auctioning $158 billion in newly printed Treasurys this week, including $35 billion in 5-year notes Tuesday.