Light crude oil futures were up 66 cents at $96.14 a barrel on Tuesday, supported by supply concerns after US companies slashed production in the Gulf of Mexico as tropical storm Isaac threatened to strengthen into a hurricane.
European stocks were down around 0.5 percent as worries over global growth eclipsed expectations of further stimulus measures from central banks ahead of Friday's gathering of the world's central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Japan's government cut its economic assessment on Tuesday, citing a deceleration in the United States and China on top of Europe's debt crisis, and warned that a further global slowdown posed risks to the world's third-largest economy.
Boeing Co will be in focus after rival Airbus won a $7 billion order to help more than triple Philippine Airlines Inc's fleet, beating its US rival to a deal despite US support for Manila in a diplomatic dispute with China.
Boeing said a temporary assembly line to boost production of its new carbon-fiber 787 Dreamliner planes is up and running in Everett, Washington.
Apple Inc is seeking speedy bans on the sale of eight Samsung Electronics phones, moving to translate a resounding court victory over its rival into a tangible business benefit.
Bank of America Corp's wealth-management unit will host a conference call with Paulson & Co's John Paulson on Tuesday, allowing some of its financial advisers and their clients to question the struggling hedge fund titan, sources at the bank confirmed.
US health regulators on Monday approved Gilead Sciences Inc's four-drug combination pill to treat HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
New York's Attorney General issued subpoenas in July to three firms that make energy drinks, including PepsiCo Inc , seeking information on the companies' marketing and advertising practices, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Forest Laboratories Inc said its board has adopted a shareholder rights plan in response to activist investor Carl Icahn's recent accumulation of the drugmaker's common stock.
Clothing maker PVH Corp raised its full-year earnings outlook for the third time this year, as it expects its European business to grow and its flagship Tommy Hilfiger brand to remain popular with shoppers.
On the macro side, investors awaited S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index for June, due at 1300 GMT, as well as August consumer confidence, due at 1400 GMT.
Shares of Apple climbed to another record on Monday, keeping the Nasdaq index afloat in the lowest trading volume of the year, with investors looking ahead to a key speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 33.30 points, or 0.25 percent, at 13,124.67. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.69 points, or 0.05 percent, at 1,410.44. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 3.40 points, or 0.11 percent, at 3,073.19.