Stocks set for flat open

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a flat open Tuesday as investors shrugged off a warning from President Obama on the risk of a potentially devastating default.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were little changed ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the likely direction stocks will take when trading opens.

Stocks started the week in the red Monday, but losses were not nearly as devastating as some expected, after lawmakers failed to agree on a debt ceiling deal over the weekend.

On Monday, pressure ratcheted up further, as President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner each used primetime television addresses to make their case to the American people.

Obama's big debt ceiling pitch

The president singled out House Republicans for intransigence, and said the political showdown is "no way to run the greatest country on Earth." But at the end of the night, there was no clear legislative path forward.

Months of increasingly tense negotiations have failed to bring a deal that can win approval from all of the necessary players -- the Republican-led House, Democratic-led Senate and the White House.

John Burke, president of Burke Financial Strategies, said that with only five trading days before the debt ceiling deadline, the issue is likely to overshadow earnings and economic data.

"It was not very settling to watch our leaders debate on TV last night," Burke said. "If they don't resolve this, it gets a little worse every day."

Economy: The S&P Case-Shiller home price index is scheduled for release at 9 a.m. ET. The Conference Board's July consumer confidence report, and the Commerce Department's new home sales report, will be out at 10 a.m. ET.

Economists expect that home prices fell 4.4% year over year in May, while consumer confidence fell slightly in July. New home sales for June are expected to remain roughly unchanged at an annual rate of 320,000 units.

Companies: Ford (F, Fortune 500) reported better than expected quarterly net income of $2.4 billion, down 7% from a year earlier. Sales climbed 13% to $35.5 billion. Shares gained 2% in premarket trading.

Before the opening bell, BP (BP) reported earnings of $5.6 billion -- a stark contrast to last year's second-quarter loss of $17.2 billion, when the company was struggling with the Gulf oil spill.

Delivery company UPS (UPS, Fortune 500), which is typically considered an economic bellwether, reported earnings per share of $1.05, beating expectations by one cent.

3M (MMM, Fortune 500) reported earnings per share of $1.60 per share -- in-line with forecasts -- on sales of $7.7 billion. Shares dropped 3% in premarket trading.

Video game publisher Electronic Arts (ERTS) and online retailer Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500) are scheduled to report quarterly results after the closing bell.

On Monday, Netflix (NFLX) reported a strong second quarter. But the video rental company spent much of its earnings release discussing problems -- namely, a recent price hike that launched thousands of online complaints. Shares were down more than 9% in premarket trading.

World markets: European stocks were mixed in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.2%, the DAX in Germany gained 0.1% and France's CAC 40 fell 0.5%.

Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite closed up 0.1%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rose 1.3% and Japan's Nikkei advanced 0.5%.

Gold at all-time high. Thanks, Washington!

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

Oil for September delivery gained 43 cents to $99.63 a barrel.

Gold futures for August delivery fell $1.60 cents to $1,610.60 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, pushing the yield up to 3.02% from 3% late Monday.