Stocks head for mixed open

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks geared up for a mixed open Tuesday, as investors mull over more company earnings, a faster-than-expected rise in producer prices and slower Chinese economic growth.

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

Quarterly losses from Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) were worse than expected, but shares of the investment banking giant gained 1% in premarkets. Goldman Sachs' $393 million loss in the third quarter marked its first quarterly loss since 2008, and was spurred by a 33% drop in investment banking revenue.

Meanwhile, slower growth announced by China did little to lift investors' optimism about the world economy. China said its gross domestic product grew at a 9.1% annual rate in the third quarter, following 9.5% growth in the prior quarter.

While a slight slowdown was expected as the Chinese government focuses on taming inflation, it nevertheless worries some investors to see China's rapid growth tempering at a time when growth in the United States and Europe is already at a stall-speed.

"The bad news is, it probably means they're consuming less of the world's goods and services," said Tim Speiss, chairman of Personal Wealth Advisors at EisnerAmper. "On the other hand, a slight deceleration in GDP may help curb Chinese inflation."

Europe's debt crisis continues to remain in the spotlight as well.Stocks tumbled 2% Monday, backing off last week's stellar gains, as investors worried it may take longer than expected to reach a final solution to the eurozone's mounting debt.

China's economy grows at 9.1%

Companies: Late Tuesday, IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) reported a 7% increase in the third quarter, but its revenue disappointed. IBM shares were down 4% in premarket trading.

Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) shares rose 1.2% in premarkets, after the bank posted net income of $6.2 billion in the third quarter, reversing a year-earlier loss, including several special accounting items.

Dow components Johnson & Johnson (JNJ, Fortune 500) and Coca Cola (KO, Fortune 500) both beat analysts' forecasts on earnings. Johnson & Johnson shares slipped 0.1% and Coca-Cola shares rose 0.4% in premarkets.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) and Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) will report results after the closing bell.

Economy: Producer prices rose more than expected in September, the Labor Department reported. The Producer Price Index rose 0.8% during the month, after coming in flat in August. Economists had expected the PPI to rise only 0.2%.

The so-called core PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.2%, also slightly more than expected.

Investors will also tune into a speech from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke at 1:15 p.m. ET. Bernanke is expected to discuss the effects of the Great Recession on monetary policy.

World markets: European stocks fell in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) slumped 1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany fell 0.1% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) sank 1.5%.

Asian markets tumbled, following the Chinese growth report. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) lost 2.3%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong plummeted 4.2% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) fell 1.6%.

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

Oil for November delivery slipped 30 cents to $86.08 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery fell $34 to $1,642.40 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, pushing the yield down to 2.11% from 2.16% late Monday.