Major global equity indices advanced ahead of Tuesday’s open as investors displayed confidence that risk assets will find fresh short-term support within the outpour of upcoming US corporate earnings, scheduled in the weeks ahead.

These moves in pre-market come in spite of Monday’s session, where Wall Street closed slightly lower (SPY: -0.07%), fostered by a sense of caution following the release of conflicting numbers from the Financial sector (-0.63%).

First quarter numbers from Goldman Sachs (GS: -3.82%) had shown profits slump, while Citigroup (C: -0.06%) had ended the session flat after reporting a slight increase in quarterly profits thanks to strength in its investment banking operations.

The declines in Goldman had weighed down the share-price of the Dow Jones, which ended -0.10% lower, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite maintained a steady position with just a +0.02% gain.

Ahead, in today’s economic calendar; US Industrial and Manufacturing Production data for March is set to be released at 9:15am EST.

In corporate news; Bank of America (BAC), UnitedHealth Group (UNH), Netflix (NFLX), International Business Machines (IBM), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), BlackRock (BLK), CSX (CSX) and United Continental (UAL) are amongst the major companies scheduled to publish their most recent financial data today.

TODAY’S TOP HEADLINES:

Paris: Notre Dame Blaze Extinguished; Officials Assess Damage. (The WSJ) Firefighters and emergency workers inspected the structural integrity of Notre Dame Cathedral the morning after a devastating fire destroyed most of its roof and its central spire.

ECONOMIC CALENDAR: Today’s Economical Announcements.

09:15AM – ★★☆ – Industrial Production (MoM) (Mar) (Previous: 0.1%) 09:15AM – ★★☆ – Industrial Production (YoY) (Previous: 3.6%) 09:15AM – ★☆☆ – Manuf. Production (MoM) (Mar) (Previous: -0.4%)

STOCKS IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Pre-Market Movers & News Related Stocks.

J.B. Hunt Transportation Services (JBHT): [EARNINGS] Reported quarterly profit of $1.09 per share, missing the $1.26 a share consensus estimate. Revenue was short of forecasts as well, as its volumes were hurt by severe weather conditions in the Midwest.

BlackRock (BLK): [EARNINGS & DIVIDEND] Earned $6.61 per share for the first quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $6.13 a share. Revenue in line with forecasts, and BlackRock also announced a 5% dividend increase.

Netflix (NFLX): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “buy” from “hold” at Deutsche Bank, based on valuation and consensus subscriber estimates that the bank considers conservative.

Western Digital (WDC): [UPGRADE] Upgraded to “buy” ’from “hold” at Deutsche Bank, which cites favorable data points in both hard disk drives and NAND flash memory.

DowDupont (DWDP): [DOWNGRADE] Downgraded to “sector perform” from “top pick” at RBC Capital Markets, which points to macroeconomic concerns for the chemical maker.

Walmart (WMT): [NEWS] Walmart announced a partnership with children’s styling service Kidbox, and will offer fashion boxes for kids containing five items for $48. That represents a 50 percent discount off suggested retail prices for the items.

Bank of America (BAC): [EARNINGS] Earned 70 cents per share for the first quarter, 4 cents a share above estimates. Revenue slightly below forecasts, amid what CEO Brian Moynihan called a “challenging” capital markets environment.

AT&T (T): [NEWS] Sold its ownership stake in Hulu to the video streaming service for $1.43 billion, a sale that values Hulu at $15 billion.

Chevron (CVX): [NEWS] Chevron won a court victory in a case involving Ecuador’s attempt to collect a $9.5 billion judgment against the energy giant over pollution.

Goldman Sachs (GS): [NEWS] Goldman will lay off 98 employees in New York, according to a filing with New York State.

Amgen (AMGN): [NEWS] Amgen set a list price of $1,825 per month for its Evenity osteoporosis drug. The Food and Drug Administration approved the drug last week, but mandated a so-called “black box” warning about an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

MOMENTUM STOCKS:

GAINERS: CTLT, BHVN, DIS, PCG DECLINERS: CLVS, ADS, TAL, DERM, NFLX, X

TODAY’S IPOs:

None.