Stock futures traded in a narrow range, having pulled back Monday following steep gains last week. Beyond quarterly results from names such as Duke Energy Corp., investors were awaiting figures on the service sector and retailing.

Wall Street expects the Institute for Supply Management's report on service sector growth for January to show a slight slowdown. Also, investors predict the weekly ICSC-UBS chain store sales index will register a decline.

Beyond economic figures, investors continued to look for signs about the health of corporate dealmaking - one barometer of the robustness of the economy. Some of investors' enthusiasm over Microsoft Corp.'s bid for Yahoo Inc. perhaps dissipated Tuesday after Banc of America Securities lowered its rating on Yahoo to neutral from buy, saying the proposed acquisition could run up against regulatory challenges, according to Dow Jones Newswires. The bank said regulatory difficulties could be steepest in the European Union.

Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 8, or 0.06 percent, to 12,604. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures slipped 0.80, or 0.06 percent, to 1,378.00, and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 1.25, or 0.07 percent, to 1,828.00.