Ahead of today's European Central Bank meeting, global markets are higher in anticipation of a bond-buying program designed to stabilize the euro.
S&P 500 futures are up 6.75 points, or 0.46 percent, to 1410 at the time of this writing. Nasdaq 100 contracts are higher by 13 points, or 0.47 percent, to 2780.50.
European indexes are rising as well, led by a 1.31 percent increase in the German DAX and a 0.59 percent gain in the U.K. FTSE 100. Much of the strength out of Europe has been bolstered by a moderately strong euro/dollar, which is higher by 0.14 percent to a two-month high of 1.2619.
The Australian dollar/Japanese yen trade, which is positively correlated to the equities market, is higher up 0.42 percent at 80.25. Asian equity indexes closed higher, with Hong Kong's Hang Seng up 0.34 percent and Japan's Nikkei 225 adding 0.01 percent.
Commodity markets are largely higher in reaction to a weak U.S. dollar. Front-month oil futures are higher by 1.11 points, or 1.16 percent, to 96.47. Gold futures are soaring up 17.20 points, or 1.02 percent, to 1711. Copper futures are surprisingly lower by 0.94 percent to 3.4975.
In company-specific news, Bank of America is up more than 1 percent in early trading after agreeing to sell its Strategic Partners buiness in an effort to continue raising capital. VeriFone is down more than 10.5 percent after quarterly results disappointed analysts' expectations.
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