By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Tuesday on a wave of strong earnings reports, including Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth, and on expectations of good results from other bellwethers including Apple.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
"The focus from the Goldman Sachs investigation has shifted back to earnings, the true driver of markets," said Andre Bakhos, director of market analytics at Lek Securities in New York. "Optimism about this earnings season seems to be coming back into play."
S&P 500 futures rose 4.1 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 21 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 7.25 points.
UnitedHealth Group Inc
Johnson & Johnson
Coca-Cola Co
Other major companies set to announce results include Apple Inc
International Business Machines Corp
Citigroup Inc
Retailers will be in the spotlight in an otherwise light day for economic indicators as Redbook releases its retail sales index of department and chain store sales at 8:55 a.m. EDT.
Crude oil futures topped $82 a barrel, rebounding from three-week lows, as jet fuel demand increased after European planes began flying again. A massive ash cloud originating in Iceland receded, freeing European airspace after five days of airport closures.
U.S. stocks rose on Monday as investors reassessed the potential damage of the Goldman fraud case and earnings optimism grew.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)