Before the Bell: Oil prices slip, global markets rise

Global markets are mostly up on Tuesday morning as the price of oil slipped and banking stocks post gains before a cheap funding boost by the European Central Bank (ECB).

Standard & Poor's cut Greece's credit rating to 'selective default' late Monday, a result of that country's retroactive insertion of collective action clauses though Germany's parliament approved a second Greek bailout. Meanwhile, banks are poised to borrow an estimated €500 billion from the ECB through its second long-term refinancing operation (LTRO) on Wednesday as demand for liquidity grows.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.2 per cent at 264.35. London's FTSE 100 Index was up just 0.2 per cent at 5922.34, Paris's CAC 40 was 0.4 per cent higher at 3454.78 and Frankfurt's DAX was up 0.5 per cent at 6882.91. The euro currency is presently fetching US$1.3436.

Lower oil prices and strong retail sales figures in Japan saw most markets in Asia edge up. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index added 1.7 per cent to 21568.73, Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average gained 0.9 per cent to 9722.52, China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.2 per cent to 2451.86 and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.6 per cent to 2003.69. However, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index declined 0.1 per cent to 4262.7 due to poor earnings reports by James Hardie Industries SE and Boral Ltd.

On Wall Street, U.S. futures are pointing to a higher open. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 40 points to 13009. S&P 500 Index futures gained 4.7 points to 1372, while Nasdaq 100 futures added 9 points to 2617. Investors await the release of the U.S. Commerce Department's January durable goods report due today. Also on tap, the Case-Shiller home price index for December and the Conference Board's consumer confidence index for February.

Closer to home, Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index closed Monday at 12,700.38, down 25.39 points, or 0.20 per cent. The Junior Venture Exchange slipped 10.02 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 1,679.50. The Canadian dollar is presently trading at US$1.0008.