Futures edge up, S&P set for record open

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock futures edged higher on Tuesday, keeping alive Wall Street's 2018 winning streak that is powered by robust economic data and expectations of earnings boost from corporate tax cuts.

Asian and European markets rose to a record high, buoyed by an upbeat industrial production data from Germany and gains in commodity stocks.

Oil rose above $68 a barrel, touching its highest since May 2015, supported by OPEC-led production cuts and expectations of lower U.S. crude inventories.

The stock rally slowed slightly on Monday but gains in technology, utilities and real estate stocks helped the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq end higher.

At 7:00 a.m. ET (1200 GMT), Dow e-minis were up 44 points, or 0.17 percent, with 14,256 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.25 points, or 0.05 percent, with 87,300 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 6 points, or 0.09 percent, on volume of 17,592 contracts.

Investors awaited the start of the quarterly earnings season for more readings on the impact of recent tax cuts and profit forecasts for the rest of the year.

Earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to rise 11.8 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with an 8 percent increase a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Among stocks, Target jumped 4 percent after the retailer said its same-store sales for November and December rose 3.4 percent.

GoPro fell 4.3 percent to $6.28 premarket, extending losses from Monday after the action camera-maker flagged a weak holiday quarter that triggered sale talks. The company said it was not actively trying to sell itself but would be willing to partner with a larger sector player.

PayPal climbed 0.81 percent after Cowen & Co upgraded the digital payments company's stock to outperform.

Shares of sportswear retailer Under Armour fell 3.3 percent after Susquehanna downgraded the stock to "neutral".

The U.S. Labor Department is set to release data on job openings and labor turnover for November at 10:00 a.m. ET. Job openings are expected to have risen to 6.038 million from 5.996 million in October.

Investors will also look for clues on monetary policy stance from Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari's speech later in the day.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)