U.S. stock index futures were lower on Tuesday as prices of commodities fell on rekindled worries about demand from China.
* Investors are awaiting a barrage of quarterly results and a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen.
* Third-quarter company earnings are in full focus this week with Verizon (VZ.N), Yahoo (YHOO.O) and VMware (VMW.N) reporting results on Tuesday.
* Investors are pricing in tepid corporate performance for the quarter and watching out for outlook commentary as the effects of global financial turbulence hits American shores.
* S&P 500 companies are expected to show a 3.9 percent fall in third-quarter profit, according to Thomson Reuters data.
* U.S. stocks closed with slight gains on Monday as tech and biotech stocks advanced ahead of a heavy week of earnings.
* Brent crude fell on Tuesday but steadied around $48 a barrel and London copper prices slipped to two-week lows straining under an economic slowdown in China. [O/R] [MET/L]
* Exxon's shares (XOM.N) were down 1.8 percent at $80.99 premarket.
* IBM (IBM.N) fell 4.7 percent to $142.15 a day after it reported a bigger-than-expected fall in quarterly revenue and cut its full-year profit forecast.
* Sandisk (SNDK.O) jumped 8.1 percent to $77.82 after a Reuters report said Western Digital (WDC.O) was in advanced talks to buy the memory chipmaker, citing people familiar with the matter.
* Yum Brands (YUM.N) rose 4.3 percent to $74.76 after the fast food group said it was preparing to separate its China business.
* Travelers (TRV.N) rose 0.6 percent to $107.00 after it reported a rise in third-quarter profit. * Data on housing starts is scheduled for release on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. ET. The data is expected to show 1.15 million units were started in September, up from the 1.13 million units in August.
* Yellen speaks at 11:00 a.m. ET. Fed Board Governor Jerome Powell is also scheduled to speak on Tuesday.
* S&P 500 e-minis ESc1 were down 7 points, or 0.35 percent, with 84,232 contracts traded.
* Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQc1 were down 12.5 points, or 0.28 percent, on volume of 13,227 contracts.
* Dow e-minis 1YMc1 were down 60 points, or 0.35 percent, with 11,349 contracts changing hands.
Ask us about our FREE financial advice program: 
Other Top Stories:
Technical Analysis Lesson 1 - Introduction
How I Made Over $30,000 a Year by Investing in Binary Options
Follow us and SHARE this story on Facebook: 
