NEW YORK: Wall Street indexes were set to open higher on Tuesday, helped by some encouraging earnings reports, especially from retailers.
As the third-quarter earnings season winds down and with no major economic data scheduled for the week, trading volumes were thin and expected to get even quieter in the run-up to the Thanksgiving holiday.
Also helping the market was a slight rise in oil prices ahead of next week's OPEC meeting at which major crude exporters are expected to extend production cuts.
Wall Street closed higher on Monday, boosted by technology and telecoms stocks, though overall trading volume was the lightest in a month.
"With the momentum being to the upside, it's very easy to keep pushing the market higher," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.
"As we get closer to the end of the year, there is a push toward ending the year on a high note."
Shares of Hormel Foods rose 4 percent in premarket trading, while Urban Outfitters and Dollar Tree inched up after posting their quarterly reports.
Lowe's fell more than 1 percent even as the No. 2 US home improvement chain reported strong sales and profit on higher demand after the recent hurricanes.
Medical device maker Medtronic rose 4 percent after its upbeat results.
Palo Alto gained 9 percent after higher demand for its cloud-based services helped the firm beat revenue and profit estimates.
Among the decliners, Signet Jewelers tanked 17 percent after reporting weak same-store sales and a surprise quarterly loss.
Campbell Soup also fell after reporting results.
At an event later in the day, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen is expected to answer questions on her term atop the central bank and the direction of policy and Wall Street oversight in the years ahead.
Yellen said on Monday she would resign her seat on the Fed's Board of Governors once Jerome Powell is confirmed and sworn in to replace her.
At 8:25 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 99 points, or 0.42 percent, with 28,171 contracts changing hands.
S&P 500 e-minis were up 8.5 points, or 0.33 percent, with 182,920 contracts traded.
Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 29 points, or 0.46 percent, on volume of 32,862 contracts.
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