– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher opening on Tuesday, with sentiment reflecting optimism over Greece taking a step in the right direction to set its house in order. The expectations could set in motion a wave of bargain hunting, as the markets trade at oversold levels. The existing home sales report to be released shortly after the markets open may not have a notable negative impact, given very muted expectations concerning the number.

If the buoyancy continues through the session, the Dow Industrials could take out resistances around its 21-day MA (12,191), 100-day MA (12,270) and its 50-day MA (12,396).

Shrugging off some early weakness triggered by the reduced possibility of Greece immediately getting financial assistance, the U.S. major averages recovered over the course of morning trading on Monday. After a steady advance in the morning, the averages consolidated their gains, closing moderately higher.

The Dow Industrials added 76.02 points or 0.63 percent to close at 12,080 and the Nasdaq Composite closed 13.18 points or 0.50 percent higher at 2,630, while the S&P 500 Index advanced 6.86 points or 0.54 percent before closing at 1,278.

Twenty-five of the thirty Dow components closed the session higher, with Caterpillar (CAT), DuPont (DD), Merck (MRK), United Technologies (UTX) and Cisco (CSCO) leading the gains.

The NYSE Arca Airline Index and the Philadelphia Housing Sector added about 1 percent each, the S&P Retail Index rose 1.01 percent and the NYSE Arca Software Index gained 1.23 percent.

Despite Monday’s rebound, the technical picture remains largely unchanged. The Dow’s 21-day MA (12,191) is still below its 100-day MA (12,270) and its 50-day MA (12,396). On the downside, the 11,870 level will serve as a key long term support, and further down, the index’s 200-day MA of 11,743 could serve as the next support level. The 14-day relative strength index is at 30.50, suggesting oversold levels.

Currency, Commodity Markets

Crude oil futures are rising $1.20 to $94.46 a barrel after rebounding by $0.25 to $93.26 a barrel on Monday. Gold futures are rising $2.10 to $1,544.10 an ounce. In the previous session, the precious metal added $2.90 to close at $1,542 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is currently trading at 80.0685 yen compared to the 80.254 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Monday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.4372 compared to yesterday’s $1.4304.

Asia

Most Asian markets advanced on Tuesday, as the positive close on Wall Street and wishful hopes of an amicable solution to the Greek debt crisis gave impetus for traders to stay invested. Commodity prices also rose as risk appetite perked up.

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