Easing Ukraine Tension Lifts Futures Ahead of Data

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A morning of relative calm on the Eastern European front helped push U.S. stock-index futures higher on Tuesday as traders eyed in-line housing data.

Today's Markets

As of 9:05 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 41 points, or 0.25%, to 16438, S&P 500 futures advanced 4.8 points, or 0.24%, to 1871 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7.5 points, or 0.21%, to 3548.

Monday was a tumultuous trading session: The markets shot between gains and losses as traders paid close attention to developments in Ukraine. Ultimately, the Dow and S&P 500 ended to the upside.

Analysts cited easing tension in Eastern Europe as a reason for the early gains seen on Wall Street and foreign markets. Better-than-expected profits from pharmaceutical giant Merck (NYSE:MRK) helped the blue-chip stock climb.

Earnings from eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) are due out after the closing bell in New York.

On the economic front, the Federal Reserve kicks off its two-day meeting. The policy statement is due out on Wednesday.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities were unchanged in February from January on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, as forecast, according to the closely-watched S&P/Case-Shiller gauge. Prices jumped 12.9% from the year prior, shallower than the 13% increase Wall Street anticipated.

A report due out later is forecast to show consumer confidence having ticked just slightly higher in April from the month prior.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures climbed 57 cents, or 0.57%, to $101.40 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline rose 0.31% to $3.05 a gallon. Gold dropped $8.90, or 0.69%, to $1,290 a troy ounce.