Wall Street set to open higher as North Korea tensions fade

Wall Street was poised to open higher on Tuesday after North Korea`s leader delayed a decision on firing missiles towards the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam, pointing to receding tensions between the United States and North Korea.

Pyongyang`s plans to fire missiles near Guam prompted a surge in tensions in the region last week, with President Donald Trump saying the U.S. military was "locked and loaded" if North Korea acted unwisely.

"I think it is a bit of a follow through on North Korea that has stepped back, things are back to somewhat normal", said Mark Spellman, portfolio manager at Alpine Funds in New York.

"U.S. companies and the markets have also been benefiting from the global economic expansion. For the first time in many years, you`ve got a lot of economies through out the world doing better," Spellman added.

U.S. stocks continued to recover from last week`s selloff, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest one-day percentage gain since April on Monday.

At 8:31 a.m. ET (1231 GMT), Dow e-minis were up 47 points, or 0.21 percent, with 25,385 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 4.75 points, or 0.19 percent, with 168,210 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 14.75 points, or 0.25 percent, on volume of 30,921 contracts.

Gold prices fell further on Tuesday as easing tensions pushed investors to seek riskier assets such as equities. Spot gold was down 0.76 percent at $1,277.18 per ounce.

Data showed U.S. retail sales recorded their biggest increase in seven months in July as consumers boosted purchases of motor vehicles as well as discretionary spending.

The Commerce Department said retail sales jumped 0.6 percent last month, which was above the 0.4 percent rise estimated by economists polled by Reuters.

New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley, one of the most influential members of the central bank, said on Monday he expected another interest rate hike this year if the economy holds and that the Fed would soon begin shedding some of its bond holdings.

The Fed has raised rates twice this year and is aiming for another hike. However a slide in inflation readings in recent months to 1.5 percent, below its 2-percent target, has raised doubts among investors about the Fed following through.

Among stocks, Coach was off more than 7 percent in premarket trading after the handbag maker issued full-year sales forecast that missed analysts` estimates.

Dick`s Sporting Goods fell 17.79 percent and were set to hit their lowest in about seven years after the sportswear retailer`s quarterly same-store sales and profit missed estimates.

Advance Auto Parts fell 14.52 percent after the company lowered its 2017 comparable store sales forecast.

Synchrony Financial rose 4.01 percent after Warren Buffett`s Berkshire Hathaway said it had added a 17.5-million share stake in the credit card issuer.

(This article has not been edited by Zeebiz editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)