Stocks set to swing higher

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks point to a higher open Tuesday, as investors weigh a tentative deal to fund the government into next year and await the Federal Reserve's meeting.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were up slightly ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Investors continue to keep a wary eye on Europe's debt crisis, but are anxious to hear if the Fed has anything else up their sleeve to help the economy.

"The market is oscillating between Europe and then how U.S. companies are actually doing," said Peter Tuz, president at Chase Investment Counsel.

U.S. stocks tumbled in a broad sell-off Monday, amid growing investor doubt that Europe's debt crisis will be resolved, and a sales warning from chipmaker Intel.

Europe debt saga far from over

World markets: European stocks advanced in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) ticked up 1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany added 0.8% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) edged higher 0.2%.

Asian markets ended lower. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) lost 1.9%, the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong shed 0.7% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) declined 1.2%.

Companies: Former MF Global (MFGLQ) CEO Jon Corzine will be back to testify before Congress Tuesday, this time flanked by two former colleagues from the brokerage's parent company, MF Global Holdings: Chief operating officer Bradley Abelow and chief financial officer Henri Steenkamp.

Seeking shelter in FDIC banks

Shares of electronics retailer Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) got slammed after the company reported earnings that fell far short of forecasts.

Intel warned that it will badly miss its sales forecast for the current quarter on Monday, because of the worldwide hard drive shortage caused by massive floods in Thailand. Shares of Intel (INTC, Fortune 500) dropped nearly 4% in trading Monday, making the chipmaker's stock one of the biggest losers among Dow issues.

Netflix's (NFLX) stock jumped 6% Monday, on chatter that the company could be acquired by Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500). A spokesman for Netflix said the company doesn't comment on speculation.

Economy: Retail sales for the month of November rose 0.2%, which was much lower than expected, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. But the disappointing report had little impact on futures.

Retail sales were expected to have increased by 0.6%, after a 0.5% increase the month prior.

Investors will also be awaiting news from the Federal Reserve, which is expected to hold interest rates at 0.25% for the month of December.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the euro and the Japanese yen, but was flat against the British pound.

Oil for January delivery rose 64 cents to $98.41 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery rose 40 cents to $1,668.60 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury dropped, pushing the yield up to 2.04% from 2.01% late Monday.