07:03 AM EDT, 04/16/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity futures were mostly pointing lower before the open Tuesday as traders await more big bank earnings, as well as results from other major corporations.

Standard & Poor's 500 futures nudged down 0.1% and the Nasdaq declined 0.2%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% in the premarket. Asian and European exchanges were trending downwards.

Bank of America (BAC), Morgan Stanley (MS), PNC Financial Services (PNC), Bank of New York Mellon (BK) and Northern Trust (NTRS) report their first-quarter results pre-bell, alongside UnitedHealth Group (UNH) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT), Omnicom Group (OMC) and United Airlines (UAL) disclose their financial statements after the markets close.

Tesla's (TSLA) shares were down nearly 2% before the bell after dropping 5.6% at the close Monday, with Reuters reporting that the electric vehicle maker's global job cuts include reducing staff in the US and China. International Paper (IP) gained 1.7% as the packaging solutions company agreed to an all-stock deal to acquire British peer DS Smith.

On the economic calendar, the housing starts and permits for March posts at 8:30 am ET, followed by the industrial production report for the same month at 9:15 am. Federal Reserve Vice Chair Philip Jefferson is scheduled to speak at 9 am.

Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams is set to speak at 12:30 pm, while Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin speaks at 1 pm. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is slated to speak at 1:15 pm.

Before the opening bell, bitcoin slipped 1.1% to $62,629, West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 0.4% to $85.06 a barrel, yields on 10-year Treasuries inclined 2.1 basis points to 4.65% and gold edged up 0.2% to $2,386 an ounce.