U.S. futures rise ahead of data, Putin speech; Dow Jones up 0.31%

U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, ahead of U.S. data and as market sentiment weakened ahead of a highly anticipated speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the integration of Crimea.

U.S. stocks point to higher open with data in focus

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.31% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.26% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.27% increase.

Vladimir Putin was set to address Russia's parliament later on Tuesday on making Crimea part of the Russian Federation, one day after signing a decree recognizing the region as a sovereign state.

Worries over the Ukraine crisis seemed to subside however, as sanctions imposed on Russia by the U.S. and the European Union were seen as mild.

The tech sector was likely to be in focus, amid reports Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella will begin unveiling his vision for the company when he debuts a version of Office for Apple's iPad and offer some features of the application for free at an event next week.

Separately, Sony Corp. tumbled 1.28% in early trading as it began a new round of job cuts at its entertainment division, in part of Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai’s effort to improve profitability at the unit.

Amazon was also lower in pre-market trade, slipping 0.18%, after a company survey measuring brand engagement and customer loyalty showed that the online retailer's rating fell from 93% to 83% following a price hike announced last week.

Last Thursday, Amazon announced that it would raise the price of its Prime membership from $79 to $99.

Elsewhere, Wal-Mart was slated to move after saying on Tuesday that it would allow consumers to come into its stores, at 3,100 locations, and trade-in used video games for an eGift card for use on any item sold in Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores and online.

Other stocks likely to be in focus included FactSet, DSW and Yingli Green Energy, scheduled to report quarterly earnings later in the day.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.28%, France’s CAC 40 dipped 0.02%, Germany's DAX declined 0.51%, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged down 0.13%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.51%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 0.94%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce data on consumer inflation, in addition to reports on building permits and housing starts.