(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock

markets, click or type LIVE/ in a news window.)

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Retails sales report due at 8:30 a.m. ET

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BofA's Q2 profit falls on shrinking interest income

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UnitedHealth ( UNH ) falls on higher medical costs

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Musk plans to commit ~$45 mln a month to pro-Trump super

PAC

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Match up on report activist investor Starboard built stake

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Futures: Dow flat, S&P 500 up 0.13%, Nasdaq up 0.20%

(Updated at 6:56 a.m. ET/1056 GMT)

By Lisa Pauline Mattackal and Ankika Biswas

July 16 (Reuters) -

Futures tied to the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq climbed on

Tuesday as investors perused a set of corporate earnings

including Bank of America ( BAC ) and awaited monthly retail sales

numbers for insight into where U.S. inflation currently stands.

Bank of America's ( BAC ) second-quarter profit fell as its

interest income shrank and it set aside more money to cover

potential credit losses. However, the second-largest U.S. bank's

shares were up 1% in premarket trading.

Morgan Stanley ( MS ) also rose 0.9% ahead of its

results before markets open.

The blue-chip Dow closed at a record high in Monday's

upbeat session on strong bets of a Federal Reserve interest-rate

cut in September and a second term for presidential candidate

Donald Trump following an assassination attempt.

Futures tracking the Russell 2000 jumped 1% after

the small-cap index closed at its highest level since

January 2022, as investors continue to move away from heavily

weighted tech stocks, which have driven most of Wall Street's

rally this year.

Attention now shifts to retail sales data, due at 8:30 a.m.

ET, to assess how U.S. consumers have responded to persistent

inflation. June retail sales are expected to fall 0.3% on a

monthly basis, according to economists polled by Reuters, after

a 0.1% rise in the prior month.

"Macro policy still trumps US election uncertainty for now,

as recent data confirms the disinflation trend," strategists at

J.P.Morgan said in a note.

Markets took it as a dovish signal when Fed Chairman Jerome

Powell said on Monday that the latest economic data "add(s)

somewhat to confidence" that inflation was returning to the

central bank's 2% target.

Traders now see interest rates falling by September, with a

nearly 88% chance of a 25-basis-point reduction by that meeting,

according to the CME's FedWatch.

Although investors perceived a potential second presidential

term for Trump as a positive sign for equities after he survived

the shooting at his campaign rally on Saturday, there were signs

of uncertainty creeping in, with Wall Street's "fear gauge"

briefly touching its highest level in three weeks.

The former president formally selected Senator J.D. Vance as

his running mate on Monday.

However, Trump-linked stocks retreated after Monday's rally,

with Trump Media & Technology Group ( DJT ), software firm

Phunware ( PHUN ) and video-sharing platform Rumble

losing between 2.4% and 7.9%.

At 6:56 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 2 points, or

-0%, S&P 500 e-minis were up 7.25 points, or 0.13%, and

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 40.25 points, or 0.2%.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH ) reported a second-quarter profit

beat. However, the stock dropped 1.5%, reversing early gains,

after it also reported higher-than-expected medical costs in the

quarter.

Tinder owner Match jumped 7.4% after a report

activist investor Starboard has a stake of more than 6.5% in the

company and was pushing for a possible sale if a turnaround

wasn't successful.

Tesla gained 1.6% after a report CEO Elon Musk

planned to commit around $45 million a month to a new pro-Trump

super political action committee.