08:02 AM EDT, 04/30/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were flat but edging mostly lower Tuesday as traders looked ahead nervously to big quarterly earnings reports and monthly consumer confidence and manufacturing numbers to be released shortly after the opening bell.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures and S&P 500 futures were down less than 0.1%, while Nasdaq futures shed a little over 0.1%

HSBC ( HSBC ) shares were up more than 4% in premarket activity after the global bank beat both analyst expectations and topped last year's Q1 earnings and revenue. Eli Lilly ( LLY ) stock jumped nearly 7% after it beat its Q1 non-GAAP earnings forecast, even as it missed its revenue mark.

Coca Cola (KO) and McDonald's (MCD) were among the American corporate behemoths to report pre-bell earnings Tuesday while Amazon ( AMZN ) and Advanced Microdevices (AMD) were scheduled to release results later in the day.

Oil prices were higher, with global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 0.3% at $87.49 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 0.3% at $82.90.

The Employment Cost Index, a quarterly measure of inflation, is expected to show slightly rising pressure on companies before the opening bell, while the monthly Case-Shiller Home Price Index is expected to show a slight rise in housing prices.

Just after the bell, the April Consumer Confidence Index is expected to edge downward to 104 from 104.7 in March and 104.8 in February. Meanwhile, The Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index is expected to rise to 45 in April after a disappointing 41.4 in March.