NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. market futures moved higher Tuesday on new hopes that the European Union will step in to help prop up the continent's most troubled nations.
Anticipation is already driving down borrowing rates for nations like Spain, where the cost of raising money had recently hit dangerous levels. On Tuesday, Spain was able to raise $5.4 billion in short-term debt at sharply lower interest rates than at the last such auction.
Dow Jones industrial futures added 40 points to 13,269. The broader S&P futures added 2.9 points to 1,417.60. Nasdaq futures gained 11.5 points to 2,791.25.
World markets also rode higher as details emerged of a European Central Bank bond-buying plan. Britain's FTSE-100 index rose 0.4 percent. Germany's DAX advanced 0.5 percent. France's CAC-40 added 0.7 percent.
Eurozone finance ministers are set to meet Wednesday in Athens.
Investors are also hoping for progress from meetings in Germany and France with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras. He is expected to request an extension of Greece's deadline to meet fiscal targets as the country carries out painful reforms.
Earlier, Asian markets got a boost from news that the Chinese central bank had moved to ease funding shortages through money market operations. China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 0.5 percent. But Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 0.2 percent lower, as did South Korea's Kospi.
U.S. stocks to watch Tuesday include Best Buy Co., which posted a 90-percent plunge in second-quarter profit, missing Wall Street estimates the day after the electronics retailer hired a new CEO who specializes in turning around ailing companies. Shares slid nearly 10 percent in premarket trading.
Also, Barnes & Noble Inc. reported a smaller quarterly loss, helped by sales of e-books and the blockbuster hit "Fifty Shades of Grey." Shares gained 5 percent in early trading. And retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. leaped nearly 17 percent premarket. The clothing and home decor company reported strong second-quarter results late Monday, prompting positive comments from analysts.
Later Tuesday, the U.S. Federal reserve releases the minutes from its meeting last month.
