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Stock futures climbed, and foreign markets rallied, on hopes European nations would be able to agree on a bailout package for Greece, potentially staving off a restructuring of Greek debt.
Today's Markets
As of 8:10 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 95 points to 12,524, S&P 500 futures traded higher by 11 points to 1,341 and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 24.5 points to 2,357.
Greece has been the subject of much concern for market participants in recent weeks as its struggled to pay back close to half a trillion dollar in public debt. As late as last week, there were concerns the embattled country might have to restructure its debt, which would entail either pushing back the maturity dates on its bonds or having bondholders take a haircut. Such a restructuring, analysts say, could pose a threat to companies that hold Greek bonds and other euro zone countries.
However, a report Tuesday by the Wall Street Journalhelped ease concerns about the chances of such a restructuring. Germany is considering backing off its initial stance that private bondholders should take on some of the cost for a Greek bailout, in the short run, to facilitate an aid package for the country, the Journal said.
The news "has lifted a major shadow from markets," wrote Anthony Grech, head of research at IG Index, in a research note.
The euro got a boost from the news as well, recently jumping 0.71% against the U.S. dollar. The greenback was off 0.42% against a basket of world currencies.
Energy markets rallied on a slumping dollar and optimism over the improving situation regarding Greek debt.
Light, sweet crude recently gained $1.50, or 1.5%, to $102.08 a barrel. Wholesale RBOB gasoline was up 2 cents, or 0.61%, to $3.11 a gallon.
Gasoline prices at the pump continued moderating over the long weekend. A gallon of regular gas cost $3.78 on average nationwide, down from $3.82 last week, but up from $2.73 last year, according to the AAA Fuel Gauge Report.
In metals, gold was unchanged at $1,537 a troy ounce. Silver climbed 65 cents, or 1.7%, to $38.50 a troy ounce.
On the economic front, several reports are due to be released Tuesday morning. The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index -- on tap for 9:00 a.m. -- is expected to show housing prices having dipped 3.2% in March after falling 3.3% the prior month. The continued high level of supply in the housing markets, combined with still soft demand, has put considerable downward pressure on the home prices.
Later in the morning, markets will get fresh data on consumer confidence. The data from the Conference Board are expected to have climbed to 66.4 in May from 65.4 the prior month. Consumer sentiment data for late May, released last week, was better than analysts had anticipated.
Consumer discretionary issues like Tiffany & Co. (TIF) could be affected by these data.
A report on business conditions in the Chicago area is also slated for release on Tuesday. Chicago PMI is expected to have fallen to 63 in May from 67.6 in the prior month. While traders tend not to follow the regional Chicago report particularly closely, it is a prelude to the highly-watched ISM report that is expected to be released on Wednesday.
Foreign Markets
The English FTSE 100 was up 0.87% to 5,991, the French CAC 50 jumped 1.4% to 3,999 and the German DAX soared 1.9% to 7,295.
In Asia, the Chinese Nikkei 225 rallied 2% to 9,694 and the Chinese Hang Seng spiked 2.2% to 23,684
