By Victor Reklaitis, MarketWatch

Darden Restaurants rallies after earnings

U.S. stocks on Tuesday were on track to open flat to slightly lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average headed for a ninth consecutive decline as investors wait for a raft of Federal Reserve speeches and economic reports.

Dow futures slipped 27 points, or 0.1%, to 20,471, while S&P 500 futures were off by 3 points, or 0.1%, to 2,335. Nasdaq-100 futures declined 5 points, or 0.1%, to 5,374.

On Monday, the Dow lost 0.2% (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-futures-slide-more-than-150-points-as-doubts-over-trumps-agenda-build-2017-03-27), notching its longest losing streak since 2011 with eight straight declines. The S&P 500 finished down by 0.1%. Analysts blamed the selling in large part on the fizzling last week of a Republican overhaul of the U.S. health care system, saying the failure sparked worries about the outlook for President Donald Trump's other business-friendly plans.

But the blue-chip Dow and the broad S&P both managed to close well above their session lows on Monday, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite finished 0.2% higher for its second up session in a row. Even so, some analysts remain wary.

"The Trump setback on health care reform will likely spell trouble for equities in the days ahead. A change in the delicate balance between hope and reality could take its toll on the overextended market," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial, in emailed notes.

Economic data: The trade gap in goods--services are excluded--fell to $64.8 billion in February from $68.8 billion in January, though market reaction to data was muted.

The Case-Shiller January data showed home prices hit a 31-month high.

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Fed speakers: Investors will be listening for comments from a packed schedule of Federal Reserve speakers.

"Focus now turns to central bank speakers for Tuesday," said Colin Cieszynski, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, in a note. "It will be interesting to see if their tone changes at all given the president's big setback."

Kansas City Fed President Esther George is due to give a speech on the economy in Oklahoma at 12:45 p.m. Eastern, and Fed chief Janet Yellen is slated to talk in Washington, D.C., at 12:50 p.m. Eastern about workforce challenges in low-income communities.

At 1 p.m. Eastern, Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan is scheduled to take part in a discussion at an event hosted by the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations

Fed Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer is expected to be interviewed on CNBC between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m., while Fed Gov. Jerome Powell is slated to give a speech at 4:30 p.m. on the central bank's history and structure at West Virginia University. (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-show-signs-of-struggle-as-oil-prices-pull-back-2016-03-02)

Stock movers: Shares in Darden Restaurants Inc.(DRI) rallied more than 4% premarket. The Olive Garden parent gained in late trading Monday, as earnings topped expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/olive-garden-parent-company-darden-restaurants-gains-after-earnings-beat-2017-03-27). Darden also said it plans to pay $780 million (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/olive-garden-owner-buys-cheddars-chain-for-780m-2017-03-27) for a 165-restaurant Texas chain, Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen.

Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) traded 0.3% higher premarket after the e-commerce giant said it's acquiring Dubai-based Souq.com (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-to-buy-middle-east-e-commerce-site-souqcom-2017-03-28-61034546), placing one of its biggest global bets in recent years on the growing Middle Eastern online shopping market. The deal was reportedly worth around $700 million.

Ford Motor Co. (F) rose 1% in premarket action after Trump tweeted (https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/846672219073863681) that the auto maker will make a "big announcement" about jobs and investments in three Michigan plants.

McCormick & Co. (MKC) posted better-than-expected earnings (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/mccormick-tops-1q-profit-forecasts-104424720.html) before the open, but the spice maker's quarterly revenue missed forecasts. Shares weren't yet active in premarket trading.

Cruise operator Carnival Corp.(CCL) is likely to see active trading, as it's among the companies expected to post earnings before the open.

And American Airlines Group's stock (AAL) may be active after the No. 1 U.S. carrier said it would make a $200 million equity investment (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/american-airlines-china-southern-airlines-in-tie-up-talks-2017-03-28) in China Southern Airlines Co. (ZNH) , giving it a foothold in China.

Other markets: Oil futures and European stocks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-bounce-back-as-worries-over-trump-rally-recede-2017-03-28) traded higher, while Asian markets mostly closed with gains (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-bounce-back-as-oil-price-rise-2017-03-27). Gold futures were edging higher, and a key dollar index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-rebounds-in-step-with-stocks-attempt-to-halt-skid-2017-03-28) stopped its slide. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell 2 basis points to 2.36%.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 28, 2017 09:05 ET (13:05 GMT)