U.S. stock index futures were little changed ahead of a big reading on inflation that could determine how fast the Federal Reserve moves to take away monetary stimulus.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials eked up nine points to 35,164.
Futures for the S&P 500 deducted 4.5 points, or 0.1%, to 4,426.
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index gave back 30.25 points to 15,014.25.
Shares of Southwest Airlines ticked nearly 2% lower in pre-market trading after lowering its third quarter operating revenue guidance, citing the Delta variant. American Airlines and United Airlines also slipped in the pre-market.
Earnings season continues on Wednesday with Wendy's and Canada Goose among the names set to report prior to the opening bell. Lordstown Motors, eBay and Bumble are on deck for after-hour closes.
Through Friday, 87% of the S&P 500 companies that reported quarterly results have beat earnings estimates. The same percentage of companies beat revenue estimates during that timeframe.
July's Consumer Price Index reading will be released on Wednesday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expect the index to have risen 0.5% last month, or 5.3% year over year. In June prices jumped 0.9%, or 5.4% on an annual basis, which was the biggest monthly increase since August 2008.
Excluding energy and food, economists expect CPI rose by 0.4% last month, compared with the 0.9% increase in core in June. June's core year-over-year increase of 4.5% was the highest since September 1991.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 index took on 0.7%, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index gained 0.2%.
Oil prices shed 81 cents to $67.48 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices gained $6.50 to $1,738.20 U.S. a pound.