Stocks headed for a strong open

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were headed for a strong open Tuesday, as investors await the latest reading on new home sales.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were up more than 1% ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

U.S. stocks rose modestly Monday, as investors grappled with an uncertain economic outlook ahead of a key speech by Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke.

The choppy advance came on a day with no major economic reports or significant corporate developments.

Investors will continue to remain cautious ahead of Bernanke's speech, which comes amid ongoing signs of a weakening U.S. economy. His speech will be held at the Kansas City Fed's annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo., Friday morning.

Stocks may recover. But don't expect much.

At last year's annual meeting, the Fed chief prepared the market for QE2 -- a bond-buying program that is widely credited for supporting stocks earlier this year.

Meanwhile, a slight improvement in Chinese manufacturing helped boost markets around the globe.

An HSBC survey of manufacturers in China showed that factory activity slowed for a second straight month in August, but the contraction was less than it was in July. The index rose to a two-month high, and investors took that as a sign that China's "economy remains weak but that growth is at least stabilizing," said Mark Williams, senior China economist at Capital Economics.

Economy: Investors will get the Commerce Department's new home sales report at 10 a.m. ET. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com are looking for new home sales to decline to 310,000 annualized units, from the 312,000 reported for June.

Companies: Swiss bank UBS (UBS) announced plans to trim 3,500 jobs by the end of 2013 as part of cost-cutting measures. Shares rose almost 4% in premarket trading.

Goldman Sachs' (GS, Fortune 500) stock edged up almost 2%. The bank's stock tumbled in late trading the previous session after news that Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has retained the services of prominent defense attorney Reid Weingarten.

And beaten-down Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) was getting a reprieve in premarket trading After hitting a new 52-week low Monday on worries about the bank's balance sheet, shares of Bank of America gained 3%.

Shares of Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) rose almost 2% after Reuters reported that Apple suppliers were buiding a cheaper version of the iPhone 4, citing unnamed sources. Reuters also said the company is aiming to launch the iPhone 5 by the end of September.

In company earnings, condiment and sauce company H.J. Heinz (HNZ, Fortune 500) will report before the opening bell.

World markets: European stocks gained in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE (FTSE) 100 rose 1.1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany added 1.5% and France's CAC (CAC) 40 climbed 2.1%.

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Asian markets ended the session higher. The Shanghai Composite increased 1.5%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumped 2% and Japan's Nikkei rose 1.2%.

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

Oil for October delivery gained $1.21 to $85.63 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery slipped $8 to $1,883.90 an ounce. Earlier, the yellow metal touched a new intraday high of $1,917.90 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 2.16% from 2.09% late Monday.