US equity futures were little changed pre-bell Tuesday as earnings from major retailers started to roll in.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 0.1%, S&P 500 futures were 0.1% lower, and Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%.

Home Depot (HD) reported higher fiscal Q2 adjusted earnings and sales. TJX (TJX), Lowe's (LOW), Target (TGT), and Walmart (WMT) are scheduled to report later in the week.

Investors are also awaiting remarks Friday from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the annual central bank symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Oil prices were lower, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude down 0.7% at $66.12 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude 0.9% lower at $62.14 per barrel.

The July housing starts report, scheduled for release at 8:30 am ET, is expected to show a decline in starts to a 1.29 million annual rate from 1.321 million previously, while permits are expected to have slipped to 1.39 million from 1.397 million in June, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.