Source: Sharecast
As of 1215 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.02%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.09% and 0.12% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed just 1.11 points lower on Monday as market participants were dialled in on discussions between US and Chinese officials.
US-China talks come amid renewed tensions between both nations, despite both countries agreeing to temporarily slash duties on one another in May. Rare earth miners, critical for the production of weaponry and defence technologies, which China slapped export restrictions on in April following Trump's so-called "Liberation Day" tariff announcement, will be central to discussions, which were slated to resume on Tuesday, according to CNBC.
On the macro front, the National Federation of Independent Business' optimism index increased from 95.8 in April to 98.8 in May, the highest reading in three months, ahead of forecasts of 95.9. 18% of small business owners reported taxes as their single most important problem, while 14% of owners reported that inflation was their single most important. The net percentage of owners expecting better business conditions rose 10 points from April to 25%.
"Although optimism recovered slightly in May, uncertainty is still high among small business owners. While the economy will continue to stumble along until the major sources of uncertainty are resolved, owners reported more positive expectations on business conditions and sales growth", said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg.
No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Tuesday.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com