Wall Street was poised for another positive session on Tuesday, with the Dow average set to inch closer to the psychologically important 20,000 mark in choppy preholiday trade.
There are no major economic news on tap, so earnings from Darden Restaurants Inc., BlackBerry Ltd. and General Mills Inc. are among key events premarket.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19 points, or 0.1%, to 19,856, indicating a second straight session of gains. The blue-chip benchmark on Monday finished 0.2% higher at 19,883.06, struggling to break through the closely watched 20,000 level.
"Wall Street futures suggest that the positive sentiment is still in play and the current opening forecasts mean that a push out to the 20,000 level for the Dow before the year end remains a distinct possibility," said Remo Fritschi, institutional sales manager at ADS Securities, in a note.
Futures for the S&P 500 index put on 2.40 points, or 0.1%, to 2,262.50, while those for the Nasdaq-100 index added 3.25 points, or 0.1%, to 4,942.
Both the S&P and Nasdaq Composite ended Monday's session higher, with investors largely shaking off attacks in Berlin and Ankara. In Berlin, 12 people were killed after a truck plowed into crowds at a Christmas market, while in Ankara, an off-duty policeman shot dead the Russian envoy to Turkey. Additionally in Zurich, three people were injured after a shooting at an Islamic center.
"The market response to each new terror event is less and less pronounced. Over the years, investors have learned to live with horror on a far too regular basis," said Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, in a note.