Dow futures were unchanged at 11,928, Nasdaq 100 futures rose 3.75 points to 1,707.50 while S&P 500 futures were up 0.50 point at 1,359.70.

With Alcoa Inc. traditionally kicking off the earnings season with its quarterly results set to be released after the market closes, the next few weeks will all be about company profits living up to investor expectations, according to Marc Pado, U.S. market strategist at Cantor Fitzgerald.

On Monday, stocks ended higher, with the Nasdaq Composite at its best level in five months, as a Fed official's soothing remarks on inflation, a going-private offer for Cablevision Systems and a $6 billion deal in the banking sector placed news of North Korea's nuclear test on the back burner. See full story.

On Monday, San Francisco Fed President Janet Yellen said holding interest rates steady "for a time" makes sense as monetary policymakers study data about the economy. See full story.

Crude futures fell as traders continued to look for some clarity from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on its plans to cut production after several days of mixed messages from officials. Crude for November delivery was last down 45 cents at $59.51 a barrel.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 7.60 points to 11,857.81 The benchmark index struck a fresh all-time high of 11,872.94 in intraday trading.

The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 11.78 points to 2,311.77, its best close since May 10 2006.

The S&P 500 Index added 1.08 points to 1,350.66.

"You had a kneejerk reaction to the North Korean news and the rise in oil prices," said Jim Awad, chairman of Awad Asset Management. "But investors know that the North Korean story is going to have to play itself out. There is nothing imminent on that front."

Greenspan was referring to an Oc.t 4 report from the Mortgage Bankers Association which showed that mortgage applications rose a seasonally-adjusted 11.9% for the week ending Sept. 29, the largest increase in more than a year.

Refinancing applications were up 17.5% from the week before and accounted for almost 47% of all U.S. mortgage applications, their highest share since February 2005. See full story.

Greenspan, speaking at a conference in Calgary, saw this "flattening out" of mortgage activity compared to the steep declines seen in recent months as a good sign, according to a story published Friday by Bloomberg News.

Mortgage refinancings have been a boon to U.S. economic growth during the last five years as homeowners used home equity they've cashed out to finance other spending.

But as mortgage rates rose to five-year highs this year, refinancing activity has ebbed, new home sales have dropped and existing-home price appreciation has stalled in many formerly hot housing markets.

Greenspan's remarks come as current Fed bankers and other economists try to figure out how much the current housing slowdown will hurt the economy.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who succeeded Greenspan, said this week that the negative effects of a housing industry correction could cut U.S. economic growth by about one percentage point in the second half of this year.

Other economists have been even more pessimistic in arguing that, because a good share of the jobs created during the current economic expansion have come in housing-dependent industries like construction and mortgage financing, the housing slowdown may hit the U.S. economy hard enough to push it into recession.

This past week saw one other positive data point for the housing market, when the National Association of Realtors said Monday that pending home sales rose 4.3% in August. Still, pending home sales are down 14.1% in the past year, the group said. See full story.