Before the bell: Stocks poised for earnings boost

U.S. stocks were headed for slight gains at Tuesday's open, as investors poured through another round of earnings reports and the latest data on home prices.

Corporate news: Early Tuesday, Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) reported its strongest first quarter in 13 years, posting earnings of 61 cents per share on $33.1 billion in revenue. Ford shares rose more than 4% in premarket trading.
3M (MMM, Fortune 500) shares rose 1% and Delta (DAL, Fortune 500)'s stock advanced 2%. Both companies beat estimates on earnings and revenue.
It wasn't all good news. Lexmark International (LVK) shares fell 7.3% and Coca-Cola (KO, Fortune 500) shares lost 2%. Both companies reported disappointing earnings.
Netflix (NFLX) shares tumbled more than 5%, a day after the company reported solid earnings but issued an outlook that fell short of forecasts.
Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500) is on tap to announce quarterly earnings after the closing bell Tuesday.
Economy: After the start of trading, the Conference Board releases its Consumer Confidence index for April. Economists forecast the index to have edged up to 64.4 from 63.4 in March, showing consumers are slightly more optimistic about the economy.
Meanwhile, this week also brings Wednesday's Federal Reserve press conference and Thursday's report on U.S. economic growth.