LONDON (ShareCast) - US stock futures pointed to an open in the red on Tuesday, as Wall Street was affected by persistent weakness in the European markets and lukewarm Chinese data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open approximately down 27 points, while the S&P and the Nasdaq are set to begin the session three and 14 points lower respectively.

US stocks declined on Monday, with disappointing data out of China piling pressure on the energy sector, as the Dow Industrials erased this year's gains.

European stocks fell, extending losses after a fairly flat start as ongoing uncertainty over Greek debt negotiations undermined sentiment, as Germany's DAX index, which has fallen over 10% since its April peak, slid under the 11,000 mark.

"The value that was added to Eurozone stock markets on the back of QE is quickly being eroded due to Greece, and with the payback deadline looming dealers are doing their utmost to get out," said IG's analyst David Madden.

Elsewhere, Asian shares fell as speculation of an interest-rate hike by the Federal Reserve later this year weighed on sentiment, while soft Chinese inflation figures sparked concern about the health of the world's second-largest economy.

The dollar reversed some of Monday's losses and was flat against the euro, although it gained 0.18% against the pound but lost 0.48% against the yen, while gold futures climbed 0.62% to $1,180.90.

Oil prices staged a solid rebound, with West Texas Intermediate gaining 2.04% to $59.35 a barrel, while Brent surged 2.38% to $64.22 a barrel.

US hiring intentions among the strongest worldwide

The economic calendar is relatively quiet for the second day in a row, with job openings and wholesale inventories, which are released at 15:00 BST, being the session's highlight.

Meanwhile, US employers' hiring intentions in the third quarter of 2015 are among the strongest worldwide, a ManpowerGroup survey has found.

According to its Employment Outlook Survey, the net employment outlook is +16%, up 2% year-on-year and flat compared with the previous quarter.

Figures released on Tuesday showed that of the more than 11,000 US employers surveyed, 24% expected staff levels to increase in the third quarter, the highest since the same period in 2008.

In company news, athletic apparel retailer Lululemon Athletica gained 3.38% in pre-market trading after first quarter sales beat expectations.

General Electric could be in focus, after agreeing to sell its private equity lending unit to Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $12bn.

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