By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Consumer-confidence data on tap premarket

U.S. stocks opened modestly higher Tuesday as Wall Street looked to shake off China's continuing rout and snap a five-session losing streak ahead of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38 points, or 0.2%, to 17,476, while the S&P 500 index added 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2,074. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index picked up 5 points, or 01%, to 5,045.

Tuesday's modest gains came after all three averages closed firmly lower on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), tracking a global selloff that was spurred by an 8.5% slide in the Shanghai Composite Index , its largest one-day loss in eight years.

The Chinese benchmark continued its rout on Tuesday (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), although the daily loss was smaller at 1.7%. Read: With China, stock market manipulation goes global (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/market-manipulation-goes-global-2015-07-27)

Fed meeting: Closer to home, investors will watch the two-day Federal Reserve meeting that kicks off on Tuesday. A statement is due at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, likely to be scrutinized for clues to the timing of a rate hike.

Chairwoman Janet Yellen has previously indicated that a rate increase is in the cards before the end of the year, possibly as early as September.

However, expectations for a September move have faded recently, partly because of the market turmoil in China and a slide in oil prices.

"The Fed will surely bring the Chinese selloff and commodity rout under their consideration and will tailor their response accordingly. We do not think that Yellen will fan the fire any further by bringing the exact timeline for a rate hike. In fact, there is a strong possibility that she may water down those expectations and use a very dovish approach," said Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, in a note.

Read: Fed is closer to a September rate hike than many think, says FedWatch's Tim Duy (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-is-closer-to-a-september-rate-hike-than-many-think-says-fedwatchs-tim-duy-2015-07-27)

The dollar traded mixed against other major currencies ahead of the Fed meeting, with the ICE dollar index inching 0.3% higher to 96.740.

Data: Consumer-confidence numbers for July are due at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. They are forecast to show a drop to 99.1 from 101.4 in June (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-consumer-confidence-jumps-past-forecast-in-june-2015-06-30), according to economists polled by MarketWatch.

The Case-Shiller home-price index for May showed that home prices rose 1.1% but after seasonal adjustments, the reading showed a decline of 0.2%. Home prices in May were up 4.9% from a year earlier, slightly slower than April's annual growth of 5%.

The Markit services purchasing-managers index for July is due at 9:45 a.m. Eastern, while the Richmond Fed business activity survey for July comes out at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Earnings: It is another busy day on the earnings calendar, with several prominent companies reporting before the bell. Chemicals major DuPont(DD) said second-quarter per-share earnings fell (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dupont-trims-outlook-on-weak-agricultural-business-2015-07-28) to $1.03 from $1.15 last year and trimmed its earnings outlook for the year. Shares declined 1.5% premarket.

Shares of Pfizer Inc.(PFE) climbed 1.1% after the drug maker reported second-quarter earnings ahead of analyst estimates.

Ford Motor Co.(F) added 1.9% after the car maker's second-quarter revenue beat forecasts.

And after the market closes, Twitter Inc. (TWTR) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 4 cents a share, up from 2 cents a share a year earlier.

Movers & shakers:General Motors Co.(GM) plans to work with a Chinese auto maker on overhauling how it designs cars for developing markets (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gm-to-invest-5-billion-in-emerging-market-cars-2015-07-28), a $5 billion initiative. Shares rose 0.9% premarket.

Honeywell International Inc.(HON) shares may move ahead of the bell, after news the industrial giant will buy German-based energy and water business (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/honeywell-to-buy-elster-from-melrose-for-51-bln-2015-07-28) Elster Group GmbH from Manufacturing group Melrose Industries PLC (MRO.LN).

eBay Inc.(EBAY) slipped 0.8% in thin premarket trade, after the e-commerce company said it is ending its eBay Now one-hour delivery service (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ebay-ending-one-hour-delivery-program-in-us-2015-07-27), in the U.S.

Shares of Baidu Inc.(BIDU) slumped 12% after the Chinese online portal late Monday reported earnings that missed forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/baidu-profit-rises-but-forecast-misses-2015-07-27).

Other markets: European stock markets rose almost across the board (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid), recovering from the China-spurred selloff on Monday. Metal prices were mixed, while crude oil prices slid further below $50 a barrel (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid).

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