NEW YORK — U.S. stock futures were mixed Tuesday with a sustained show of strength from the financial sector and more evidence that inflation is being held in check.
Volume is light for the second consecutive day, however, with markets awaiting testimony from the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
Dow Jones industrial futures slipped 3 points to 15,413. S&P futures lost 0.8 points to 1,676.70. Nasdaq futures tacked on 2.25 points to 3,075.25.
A day after Citigroup easily topped Wall Street expectations, Goldman Sachs did the same. The global investment and securities firm doubled its quarterly profits for the second quarter and posted revenue of $8.61 billion.
Market conditions became more challenging during the latter part of the second quarter, according to Goldman, and CEO Lloyd Blankfein said that the company would "continue to put a premium on disciplined risk management."
Yet the government reported that inflation is largely being held in check.
While consumer prices rose in June, most of that increase came from gas prices, according to a report from Labor Department. Overall inflation remains rather tame.
Consumer prices have risen just 1.8 percent during the past 12 months. Core prices are up 1.6 percent in the same period — the smallest 12-month change in two years.
Quarterly financial reports have been mostly strong from U.S. corporations, that that trend continued Tuesday.
Johnson & Johnson also doubled its profits during the second quarter, breezing past the projections of most industry analysts, according to a poll by FactSet.
Coca-Cola reported declining profits and weak volume growth for the quarter, particularly in North America. Global volumes rose 1 percent.
CSX and Yahoo report earnings after the bell Tuesday.
