The Conference Board is expected to release the index of consumer confidence for June at 10:00 a.m. Economists expect the index to climb to a reading of 105.0 in June versus 102.2 in May.

Dow Jones futures were up 23 points, Nasdaq futures were up 6 points and S&P futures were ahead 2.8 points.

Oil prices ended at a record high for the third session in a row Monday, but slightly eased overnight. The August light crude contract lost 53 cents to $60.01 a barrel in electronic trading, while the August contract for Brent crude dropped 60 cents to $58.71.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average ended up 0.9% to 11513.83, with construction and steel stocks making gains on bargain hunting. Auto makers and some technology shares also advanced as the dollar jumped versus the yen in Asia.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 was up 0.6% at 5,073.8, bolstered by oil and mining stocks. The London index also was lifted by a welcomed earnings update from supply chain management provider Exel. The German DAX 30 index added 0.3% to 4,537.9, France's CAC 40 index gained 0.4% at 4,172.43.

In currency trading, the dollar jumped to an eight-month high of 109.80 yen before sliding back 109.78 yen late Tuesday, up 0.56 yen from late Monday in Tokyo.

The euro declined to $1.2120 from $1.2157 Monday but advanced to 133.12 yen from 132.84 yen.

Apollo Group (APOL: chart) is scheduled to report third-quarter earnings of 74 cents a share. Also reporting Tuesday are CardioDynamics International (CDIC: chart) and Electro Scientific (ESIO: chart).

Emmis Communications (EMMS: chart) posted first-quarter net income of 14 cents a share, up versus a year-earlier loss of $1.36 a share.

Panera Bread Co. (PNRA: chart) disclosed its system-wide comparable bakery-cafe sales advanced 9.6% for the 4-week period ended June 14. The company said that this was more than the 6.5%-8.0% rise it had forecasted. For the second quarter, Panera Bread said it sees earnings in line with its earlier announced target of $0.32-$0.33 per share.

CBRL Group (CBRL: chart)) said that it now sees its fourth-quarter earnings and revenue to come in at the low end of its earlier issued forecast for a profit of $0.73-$0.76 per share and revenue growth of 9%-11%. The company also said that comparable store restaurant sales at its Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations rose 3.3% for the 4 weeks ended June 24.