By Tomi Kilgore 

U.S. stock futures traded near the flat line, as investors paused from the recent string of gains to assess a heavy dose of earnings news.

About 90 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ticked up nine points, or 0.1%, to 16380.

S&P 500 index futures nudged higher by one point, or 0.1%, to 1865 and Nasdaq-100 futures added seven points, or 0.2%, to 3558. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.

On Monday, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% to post a fifth-straight gain, the longest winning streak since the five-day stretch ending Oct. 22. The Nasdaq also extended its winning streak to five sessions, the longest since Feb. 18.

The S&P 500 has gained 3.1% in five sessions since closing at a two-month low, and is now just 1% away from its April 2 record closing high of 1890.90.

The advance has soothed fears that a selloff in highflying social-media and technology stocks earlier in the month would spill over to the broader market. Some of those hardest hit stocks were among the biggest gainers during the market's recent bounce.

In early stock movers, Netflix rallied 7.9% in premarket trading after the video-streaming company reported late Monday first-quarter earnings that exceeded expectations, provided a second-quarter outlook above current analyst projections, and said it plans to increase prices for new members.

Through Monday, the stock has gained 6.7% over the last week. Before that bounce, the stock had dropped 24% since closing at a record high of $454.98 on March 4.

Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at broker-dealer Rockwell Global Capital, said the recent improvement in economic data and earnings that have generally been better than forecast should continue to support the bounce in stocks.

"By and large, earnings season so far has been surprisingly good, and companies are starting to look at better times ahead," Mr. Cardillo said. "Most clients are realizing, the economy is looking better and Corporate America will continue to do well. They're not overly bullish, but that is a good thing."

Within the Dow, Travelers Cos. gained 0.4% after the insurer topped first-quarter earnings forecasts and raised its quarterly dividend by 10%.

United Technologies tacked on 0.9% after beating first-quarter earnings and revenue estimates and boosting the lower end of its 2014 profit outlook.

McDonald's added 0.6% after reporting disappointing first-quarter earnings, but a rise in global same-store sales.

With 19% of the S&P 500 having reported first-quarter results through Monday, overall earnings per share are expected to decline 1.2% from year-ago levels, according to FactSet, which is a slight improvement from when earnings season started two weeks ago. Many analysts are attributing the decline to harsh weather during the quarter.

On the economic calendar, existing home sales for March, due at 10 a.m. Eastern, are expected to decline 0.7% on the month to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 4.57 million.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note inched up to 2.724% from 2.719% late Monday.

Crude-oil futures eased 0.8% to $102.86 a barrel, after settling Monday at a seven-week high, while gold futures added 0.2% to $1,290.90 an ounce. The dollar lost some ground against the euro and the yen.

European markets were broadly higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 1.1%, as a rally in pharmaceutical stocks set a positive tone for investors returning from the four-day Easter weekend.

The U.S.-listed shares of GlaxoSmithKline gained 4% and those of Switzerland's Novartis rose 1.2% after the drug giants announced a series of transactions that will reshape both companies, including Novartis' $14.5 billion purchase of GlaxoSmithKline's oncology unit.

In addition, it was Europe's first chance to react to news reports that AstraZeneca had been approached by rival drug maker Pfizer about takeover talks. On Monday, AstraZeneca's U.S.-listed shares surged 8.8%, but are down 1.9% in Tuesday's premarket.

Asian markets were mixed, with China's Shanghai Composite edging up 0.3% and Japan's Nikkei Stock Average slipping 0.9%.

In other corporate news, Allergan surged 18% after Valeant Pharmaceuticals submitted a $46 billion merger proposal. The buyout bid is backed by Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, which owns a 9.7% stake in Allergan. Valeant's stock rallied 5.6%.

Xerox slumped 4.1% after providing a disappointing second-quarter earnings outlook, while Comcast gained 0.7%, Harley-Davidson climbed 6.8% and Lockheed Martin edged up 0.3% after exceeding first-quarter earnings estimates.

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

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