By Sara Sjolin and Anora M. Gaudiano, MarketWatch

Dollar index rises for 4th straight session

Stocks on Wall Street looked ready to relax their grip on record levels at the open Tuesday, as traders focused on the next wave of key earnings, including results from banking majors Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

What are futures doing?

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 13 points, or 0.1%, to 22,911, while S&P 500 index futures slipped 0.70 point to 2,555.5. Nasdaq-100 futures were down 4 point at 6,116.

On Monday, the three major benchmarks all scored record closing highs (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-poised-for-fresh-high-in-muted-trading-as-investors-brace-for-week-of-earnings-2017-10-16), with the Dow rising 0.4%, the S&P 500 ending 0.2% higher and the Nasdaq Composite Index closing with a 0.3% gain.

What's driving the markets?

It's all about financial updates on Tuesday, with the third-quarter earnings season continuing at full speed through this session.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) rose 2% and UnitedHealth Group Inc.(UNH) climbed 1.6% ahead of the bell after both beat earnings forecasts.

Morgan Stanley(MS) shares were up 1.5% after the Wall Street bank reported earnings that easily beat forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/morgan-stanleys-earnings-top-estimates-2017-10-17) as its wealth-management business continued to make reliable profits.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.(GS) also beat forecasts, sending shares more than 1% higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/goldman-sachs-stock-jumps-as-earnings-crush-estimates-2017-10-17).

See:Third-quarter earnings seen as 'an easy beat,' may bring more market records (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/third-quarter-earnings-seen-as-an-easy-beat-could-set-up-more-stock-market-records-2017-10-09)

And after the market closes, International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) is slated to report.

The dollar got a boost from media reports out late Monday (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-10-16/taylor-is-said-to-impress-trump-for-fed-chairman-as-warsh-slips) saying that Stanford University's John Taylor, the economist behind the famous "Taylor Rule," made a favorable impression on President Donald Trump last week.

Taylor is considered one of the more hawkish candidates in the running to become the next Federal Reserve chairman, and his "Taylor Rule" implies that interest rates should be a lot higher than they are now.

Read:Is the Fed chair race more wide open than portrayed? (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-looking-at-a-lot-of-people-in-search-for-next-fed-chief-mnuchin-2017-10-13)

The ICE Dollar Index was up 0.3% at 93.545 in Tuesday's trade.

What do strategists say?

After the records logged on Monday, Hussein Sayed, chief market strategist at FXTM, questioned how much upside remains.

"It looks to me like speculation and greed are driving the current bull market, which could be an indication of the latest stages of an uptrending market. However, it is not a wise decision to sell uptrend markets; speculation might continue to drive stocks higher, especially if earnings surprise to the upside," he said in a note.

Which economic data are due?

The import price index for September is slated for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

At 9:15 a.m. Eastern, industrial production figures for September are forecast to show a rise of 0.3%. A report on capacity utilization for the same month is due at the same time, followed by a home builders' index for October at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Check out:MarketWatch's Economic Calendar (http://www.marketwatch.com/economy-politics/calendars/economic)

Which stocks are in focus?

Shares of Netflix Inc.(NFLX) rose 0.8% ahead of the bell after the streaming service late Monday reported stronger-than-forecast subscriber growth (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2017/10/16/netflix-earnings-to-show-user-growth-ahead-of-subscription-price-increases-live-blog/)and revenue for the third quarter.

First Take:Netflix plans huge movie push as it faces post-Disney reality (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-plans-huge-movie-push-as-it-faces-post-disney-reality-2017-10-16)

Also read:Netflix aims for all-time high as analysts see high double-digit upside for shares after earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-aims-for-all-time-high-as-analysts-see-high-double-digit-upside-for-shares-after-earnings-2017-10-17)

U.S.-listed shares of Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN.EB) rose 0.6% after Swiss activist investor RBR Capital Advisors AG bought a stake in the bank (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/activist-rbr-capital-buys-stake-in-credit-suisse-2017-10-17) and reportedly is seeking to split it up (https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/credit-suisse-facing-break-up-calls-from-activist-investor-20171017?mod=mktw).

TransEnterix Inc. (TRXC) jumped 10% in premarket trade, on track to add to a 93% rally from Monday. That move came after the medical device company received regulatory clearance to market its robotic surgery device (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/transenterix-shares-soar-on-fda-clearance-of-robotic-surgery-device-2017-10-13).

Boeing Co.(BA) shares were down 1.7% after rival aircraft maker Airbus (AIR.FR) took a 50.01% stake in Bombardier Inc.'s CSeries jets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/bombardier-may-partner-with-airbus-on-cseries-jetliners-2017-10-16).

What are other assets doing?

Asian stocks closed mostly higher (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-market-rally-shows-signs-of-slowing-2017-10-16), but with Chinese stocks ending lower ahead of the Communist Party's congress later in the week. In Europe, indexes were mixed.

Read:5 reasons why investors need to watch China's National Party Congress (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-reasons-why-investors-need-to-watch-chinas-national-party-congress-2017-10-13)

Metals slumped, with gold 0.9% lower. Crude oil rose 0.4%, after Iraqi forces took control of oil fields in Kirkuk.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 17, 2017 08:25 ET (12:25 GMT)