The widely followed U.S. stock benchmark was up 0.1%, after trading down earlier in the session, according to FactSet data, at last check. The S&P 500 joined the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the green,

U.S. stock index futures inched higher on Tuesday as investors awaited a clutch of economic reports and clung to hopes of a half-percentage-point rate cut at the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting,