Wall Street Set To Open Moderately Up

BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - On Tuesday, markets are poised to gain on optimism about vaccine rollouts and upcoming stimulus package.

After the long week, there are no major financial announcements on the day. The initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open higher.

Asian shares finished broadly higher, while European shares are trading up.

Bank of America (BAC), Netflix (NFLX), Procter & Gamble (PG), IBM (IBM), Intel and (INTC) are scheduled to release their quarterly results this week.

As of 7.30 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 176.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were gaining 24.50 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 107.50 points.

The U.S. major Indices finished lower on Friday. The Dow ended the day down 117.26 points or 0.6 percent at 30,814.26 after tumbling by nearly 380 points in early trading. The Nasdaq slumped 114.14 points or 0.9 percent to 12,998.50 and the S&P 500 slid 27.29 points or 0.7 percent to 3,768.25.

On the economic front, Treasury International Capital Data for November will be published at 4.00 pm ET. In the previous month, the Net Long-Term Securities Transactions were $51.9 billion.

The six-month Treasury bill auction will be held at 11.30 am ET. Asian stocks ended broadly higher on Tuesday. Chinese shares fell notably. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index dropped 29.84 points, or 0.83 percent, to 3,566.38, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up 779.51 points, or 2.70 percent, at 29,642.28.

Japanese shares gained ground on Tuesday. The Nikkei average rallied 391.25 points, or 1.39 percent, to 28,633.46 as investors watched headlines linked to the country's vaccination schedule. The broader Topix index closed 0.56 percent higher at 1,855.84.

Australian markets posted strong gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 climbed 79.60 points, or 1.19 percent, to 6,742.60, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended up 79.60 points, or 1.15 percent, at 7,015.

European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the German DAX is adding 42.47 points or 0.30 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is gaining 0.40 points or 0.01 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is losing 1.99 points or 0.02 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is up 0.23 percent.

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