Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are solidly higher ahead of the bell, with Wall Street ready to get back to work following its two-day respite. "The S&P 500 Index (SPX) levels to watch are now 1,425 and 1,440 overhead, and 1,400 and 1,385 below," said Schaeffer's Equities Analyst Bryan Sapp. "Despite the markets being closed the past two days, a bunch of big names reported earnings, and obviously the market hasn't had a chance to price in these reports. Some noteworthy companies to watch are Ford (NYSE:F), Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU), Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB), UBS (NYSE:UBS), and BP (NYSE:BP). Also, keep your eye on Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), who made news yesterday following the announcement of an executive shake-up. Additionally, the market should still be moving from last Friday's earnings."

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Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are nearly 60 points above fair value.

Market Statistics

Option activity on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) was closed on Tuesday.

From the Trading Floor

"Our Quantitative Analyst Chris Prybal wrote a blog yesterday about the State Street Investor Confidence level, and how it hit an all-time low," continued Sapp. "Bearishness continues to creep higher, and many are using this hurricane as a reason to sell the market. That's actually false, in that historical returns post-hurricanes are positive three months out, going back 100 years."

Currencies and Commodities

• The U.S. dollar index is 0.3% lower in pre-market trading, with the currency hovering near $79.73.
• Crude oil has added 0.8% to trade at $86.39 per barrel.
• Gold futures are higher, as well, with the front-month contract up 0.5% at $1,719.41 an ounce.

Earnings and Economic Data

The Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI), the employment cost index, and the ADP employment report will hit the Street today. The release of the weekly crude inventories report has been delayed until tomorrow. Companies stepping up to the earnings plate include General Motors (GM), MasterCard (MA), Visa (V), Garmin Limited (GRMN), MGM Resorts International (MGM), Clorox (CLX), Metlife (MET), Murphy Oil (MUR), Valeant Pharmaceuticals (VRX), Vonage (VG), Elizabeth Arden (RDEN), SCANA Corporation (SCG), and Waste Management (WM). Be sure to check with each company's respective website, as a number of reports were delayed due to Hurricane Sandy.