US STOCKS-Wall Street futures pause as earnings season gains momentum

Oct 21 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Tuesday, following Wall Street's strong rally in the previous session, as investors prepared for a deluge of quarterly results from major corporations.

All the three major indexes had closed with gains of more than 1% on Monday, marking their best day in more than a week, as upbeat earnings expectations and easing concerns over regional bank credit quality boosted risk appetite.

Markets are now expected to face a fresh litmus test with heavyweights, including Tesla, IBM IBM.N, Procter & Gamble PG.N, Coca-Cola KO.O, Intel INTC.O and Ford F.N, set to report this week.

Shares of General Motors GM.N, set to report its financials before market open, slipped 2.1% in premarket trading. 3M MMM.N was up 1.1% ahead of its results. Netflix NFLX.O, scheduled to report after markets close, also edged higher.

At 05:20 a.m., Dow E-minis YMcv1 were down 83 points, or 0.18%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were down 7.25 points, or 0.11%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 24.25 points, or 0.1%.

Futures RTYcv1 tied to the small-cap Russell 2000 also edged lower, after the index .RUT jumped nearly 2% in the previous session.

Mega-cap stocks were a mixed bag. Apple AAPL.O eased 0.2% after hitting a record high on Monday. Meta META.O gained 0.3%, while Alphabet GOOGL.O slipped 0.4%.

Regional bank earnings are also in focus to get a closer read on the sector's health after fears of systemic stress sparked a selloff last week.

But with valuations stretched and markets hovering near record highs, analysts say that earnings beats alone may not be enough to sustain the rally. Investors will be watching margin resilience and forward guidance, especially amid persistent trade tensions and lingering inflation concerns.

Uncertainty surrounding the U.S. government shutdown is also dampening sentiment as delays in key economic data releases obscure market visibility. However, White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett said on Monday the shutdown was likely to end this week.

U.S. President Donald Trump also struck a hopeful tone on trade, saying he expects to reach a "fair deal" with Chinese President Xi Jinping, while downplaying tensions over Taiwan.

Investors are now eyeing Trump's upcoming meeting with Xi on the sidelines of next week's economic summit in South Korea.

Among other stocks, Fluor FLR.N jumped 6.8% in premarket trading, after reports said activist investor Starboard Value has taken a nearly 5% stake in the construction firm.