1. Earnings on tap: Companies including Coach (COH), Cablevision (CVC), CVS Caremark (CVS), Office Depot (ODP) and MGM Resorts (MGM) are set to release quarterly results before the opening bell.
Then after the close, Wall Street will get to see earnings from Groupon (GRPN), Activision (ATVI, Tech30), Take-Two (TTWO), Walt Disney (DIS) and Zillow (Z).
2. Economic data: The U.S. Census Bureau will issue its monthly report on factory orders at 10:00 a.m. ET. At the same time the Institute for Supply Management will release data on the performance of the U.S. services sector for July.
Related: CNNMoney's Tech30
3. International markets overview: European markets were rising in early trading, with sentiment boosted by data showing the eurozone's manufacturing and services sectors continued improving for the 13th month running in July.
Germany's Dax index was the best performer in Europe, rising by 0.7%.
Performance on Asian markets was less inspiring. Most major markets fell Tuesday, with the Nikkei in Japan dipping by 1%.