U.S. futures higher on fiscal hopes; Dow Jones up 0.30%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, as investors hoped for progress in U.S. budget negociations before the end of the year.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.30% rise, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.36% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.50% gain.

Sentiment found support amid hopes U.S. lawmakers will reach an agreement in time to avoid automatic tax hikes and spending cuts due to take effect on January 1 which investors’ fears could derail the U.S. recovery and threaten global growth.

On Monday President Barack Obama made a counter-offer to Republicans that included a major change in position on tax hikes for the wealthy.

But investors remained cautious after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said that the economic environment in the euro zone was challenging and was likely to remain so for some time to come.

Tech stocks were expected to be active, after q U.S. judge denied Apple's request for a permanent injunction against Samsung Electronics' smartphones. Nonetheless, shares in the iPhone maker were up 0.35% in pre-market trade.

American International Group was also likely to remain in focus for the second consecutive session, after the insurance group raised USD6.45 billion from the sale of its remaining stake in AIA Group Ltd. in Asia's second-largest block sale ever.

Among retailers, Wal-Mart Stores' dipped 0.01% in early trading, after the New York Times reported on Monday that the company's Mexican affiliate used bribes to open stores in desirable locations.

Elsewhere, electronic trading firm Knight Capital Group was said to be considering two competing acquisition offers after a board meeting on Monday. The meeting reportedly included presentations from Getco Holding and Virtu Financial.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.34%, France’s CAC 40 inched up 0.01%, Germany's DAX climbed 0.43%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.32%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dipped 0.08%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.21%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to produce government data on the current account.