By Tomi Kilgore 

U.S. stock futures declined early Tuesday, as investors took some time to digest the market's recent string of record high closes.

About 90 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures shed 36 points, or 0.2%, to 16686.

S&P 500 index futures lost five points, or 0.3%, to 1917 and Nasdaq-100 futures fell 12 points, or 0.3%, to 3715. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.

On Monday, the S&P 500 closed up 0.1% at a third straight record and fifth in six sessions. The Dow rose 0.2% to post a second-straight record. The slow grind higher continued, as overall volume fell to the third-lowest daily total of the year.

Small-capitalization stocks have come under renewed pressure, as the Russell 2000 fell for a second-straight session on Monday. The small-cap index closed Monday 6.6% below its May 4 record closing high.

The pressure continued on Tuesday, with the iShares Russell 2000 exchange-traded fund falling 0.6% in premarket trading.

"The market seems to be a little complacent, as we're making new highs on a daily basis," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at broker-dealer Rockwell Global Capital. "The market does need to take a rest."

He said the underperformance by small-cap stocks doesn't worry him, "because we're not seeing a market engaged in an overly speculative rise." Because the economic data continues to show the economy is headed for stronger growth, Mr. Cardillo said, "the market isn't overly expensive in terms of fundamentals."

On the economic calendar, factory orders for April are expected to rise 0.6% on the month. But the highlight of the week is the closely watched monthly employment report due on Friday, which is expected to show that 210,000 jobs were added in May.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked up to 2.556% from 2.532% late Monday.

Gold futures gained 0.2% to $1,246.90 an ounce, after settling lower for a sixth-straight session on Monday. Crude-oil futures declined 0.1% to $102.41 a barrel. The dollar lost some ground against the euro and the yen.

European markets pulled back, with the Stoxx Europe 600 down 0.6% after closing Monday at a 6 1/2-year high. Investors digested data showing the annual rate of inflation in the euro zone fell to 0.5% in May, the lowest level in more than four years and well below the European Central Bank's target of nearly 2%. The data helped cement expectations that the ECB will introduce more stimulus when it meets on Thursday.

The euro zone's unemployment rate fell to 11.7% in April, the lowest level since October 2012, from 11.8% in March.

Asian markets were mixed. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.7% to a two-month high, while China's Shanghai Composite eased less than 0.1%.

In corporate news, Quiksilver tumbled 38% after the apparel retailer reported late Monday a wider-than-expected fiscal second-quarter loss and revenue that fell more than forecast. The company also said general sales trends of recent quarters would continue in the second half of 2014.

Hillshire Brands rallied 8.5% after the company said it would hold separate talks with Pilgrim's Pride and Tyson Foods, who have both offered to buy Hillshire. The announcement comes after The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday that Pilgrim's Pride raised its bid to buy Hillshire to $55 a share, above Tyson's offer of $50 a share.

Hillshire added that it wasn't withdrawing or modifying its own bid to buy Pinnacle Foods, which was trading down 0.6% early Tuesday.

Dow component AT&T advanced 0.5% after the company raised its 2014 revenue growth outlook and affirmed its adjusted earnings estimate, and said that it has seen smartphone sales rise through the current quarter.

Krispy Kreme slumped 12% after the doughnut chain matched fiscal first-quarter earnings expectations, but lowered its outlook for the year.

Write to Tomi Kilgore at tomi.kilgore@wsj.com

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