Before the Bell news:

The weather on Wall Street is sultry, but the mood is sunny after Bank of America Corp. reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly profit. Investors are hoping that the latest earnings beat by a big financial services company means the sector is finally stabilizing, and stock futures are pointing higher.

The dollar is down against an index of major currencies. U.S. Treasuries are mostly flat.

Oil prices are up after talks on Iran's nuclear program ended in a stalemate, and the market is greeting the Yucatan-bound tropical storm with a resounding, "Hello, Dolly!"

On a relatively light day for economic news, the Chicago Fed is releasing its national activity index.

Swiss drug company Roche has offered to buy the remaining outstanding shares of U.S. partner Genentech for nearly $44 billion.

Citigroup says Vice Chairman Michael Klein has left to pursue other opportunities, the latest of many executives to leave since Vikram Pandit became CEO.

Yahoo has announced a settlement with activist shareholder Carl Icahn in their proxy battle.