With the majority of S&P 500 companies beating Street expectations for second quarter earnings, Wall Street futures are pointing to a positive open for North American equity markets on Tuesday.

At 10 a.m. this morning, the U.S. the Conference Board is scheduled to release consumer confidence for July – a key indicator for investors. Economists are anticipating a reading of 85, up from 83.5 for June.

Later this week U.S. reports on regional economic indicators, employment and manufacturing activity are due out. GDP numbers for both Canada and the U.S. are also due this week.

Canadian earnings reports continue to flow in. Rothmans is reporting that its quarterly profit declined 13% to $18.6 million and sales declined by 4% to $140.7 million.

Ballard Power Systems is reporting that its second-quarter loss was 50% deeper than a year ago, down to $32.5 million US after a $7.3-million investment write-down and a $1.8 million restructuring charge. Ballard’s revenue rose by 36% to $29.1 million.

In business news, Canadian oil and gas giant EnCana Corp. has agreed to pay a US$20-million fine to settle charges that a former subsidiary tried to manipulate American energy markets.

Meanwhile, European markets are up at midday. London’s FTSE 100 is up 7.9 points to 4,156.7. The Frankfurt DAX has risen 0.9% and the Paris CAC40 has advanced a mere 0.5%.

Asian stock markets were mixed during Tuesday trading. In Tokyo, the Nikkei average slipped 5.60 points to 9,834.31.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 63.72 points to 10,198.60, a 2% rise from the previous session.