Stocks rose across the world as euro zone finance ministers met to discuss dramatic ways to save the debt-stricken region and protect the global banks that lend to it.
Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.4 per cent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.8 per cent, and Germany's DAX rose 0.7 per cent. Japan's Nikkei surged 2.3 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 1.2 per cent.
Dow futures were up 54 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 11,552 about two hours before the New York Stock Exchange opened for business. S&P 500 futures rose 7.9 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 1,199.
The 17 European finance ministers will be discussing radical ideas to save the euro zone that would have been unthinkable until recently: countries ceding fiscal sovereignty to a central authority, and forming some kind of elite group of euro nations that would guarantee one another's loans.
At the top of Tuesday's agenda are measures to better integrate the euro zone's disparate nations. France and Germany plan to make proposals on how the countries can monitor one another.
Investors were relieved after Italy successfully sold 7.5-billion euros in bonds, even though its cost of borrowing continued to soar. Europe's third-largest economy paid record yields of nearly 8 per cent to sell three-year paper and 10-year bonds at a euro lifetime high of 7.56 per cent, up from 6.06 per cent at the end of October.
The Italian/German 10-year government bond yield spread tightened to 504 basis points from intra-day highs of 523 bps, while German Bund futures fell to session lows of 133.38.
Gold steadied, after posting its second-largest one-day gain of the month the previous day. Spot gold was last quoted up 0.2 per cent at $1,714.80 (U.S.) an ounce.
Brent crude futures were up $1.29 to $110.29 a barrel, while U.S. crude was up 81 cents to $99.02 a barrel.
The Canadian dollar rose to 97.18 U.S. cents.