Stock Futures Drift Lower

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U.S. stock-index futures slipped on Tuesday as traders parsed through somewhat disappointing data on the housing market.

Today's Markets

As of 9:10 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 15 points, or 0.09%, to 16825, S&P 500 futures dipped 2.8 points, or 0.15%, to 1950 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.5 points, or 0.04%, to 3796.

Wall Street is crawling away from the record highs it notched last week. The shift lower has been more of a meandering motion than a decisive move -- leaving all-time highs within easy reach.

The data docket is fairly heavy on the day.

Home prices in 20 major U.S. metropolitan areas rose 1.1% in April from March on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, more than the 0.8% economists expected, according to a closely-watched gauge from S&P/Case-Shiller. From the same period in 2013, prices rose 10.8%, a shallower increase than the 11.6% gain Wall Street was looking for.

The gauge is a lagging indicator, but it is closely watched because it provides a crisp picture of the housing market.

At 10:00 a.m. ET, traders will get a look at sales of newly-constructed homes. The rate is expected to have risen in May to 440,000 units from 433,000 the month before. There is also a reading on consumer confidence from The Conference Board at that time.

On the corporate front, Micron (NYSE:MU) revealed better-than-expected quarterly profits on the back of a pick-up in PC demand. The maker of memory chips is seen as a bellwether in the chip space.

Elsewhere, U.S. crude oil futures rose 83 cents, or 0.78%, to $107.26 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline advanced 0.22% to $3.114 a gallon. Gold rose $6, or 0.46%, to $1,324 a troy ounce.