Stock futures pointed to a higher opening Tuesday as investors placed bets that new data on economic output and housing sales will show the economy is continuing to recover.
Overseas markets strengthened. A report that the British economy did not contract as much as previously thought in the third quarter sparked a rally in Europe.
The U.S. government will release its final update on economic activity from the third quarter as well. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast the nation's economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate. That would match the most recent estimate.
Traders are also awaiting a report that is expected to show sales of existing homes rose to their highest level in nearly three years. Economists predict home sales rose 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.25 million in November, from 6.1 million in October.
A sharp decline in sales and home prices coupled with rising defaults helped push the nation into
recession. Any signs of improvement in the market would further boost confidence in the speed of the recovery.
The National Association of Realtors' report is scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. EST.
Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 35, or 0.3 percent, to 10,377. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 3.80, or 0.3 percent, to 1,112.00, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 10.75, or 0.6 percent, to 1,836.25.
Stocks are set to extend gains into Tuesday after moving sharply higher a day earlier. Corporate dealmaking and a push toward healthcare overhaul on Capitol Hill fueled big gains. Major indexes rose about 1 percent.
Among the deals, French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA said Monday it plans to buy U.S. health care products company Chattem Inc. for $1.9 billion, and mining equipment maker Bucyrus International Inc. said it will acquire Terex Corp.'s mining equipment division for $1.3 billion.
Corporate acquisitions are often seen as a sign of an improving economy as companies that had held onto cash during a downturn look for new places to invest their money.
International deals continued Tuesday, as Boston-based
State Street Corp. agreed to buy the securities services business of Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo for $1.87 billion.
Meanwhile, bond prices continued to fall. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.71 percent from 3.68 percent late Monday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.08 percent from 0.05 percent.
The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices inched higher.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.9 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 0.3 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.7 percent.
