Fiscal cliff talks lift stock index futures
Home builder sentiment awaited for housing clues
MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock index futures pointed higher on Tuesday, with sentiment lifted by signs of progress toward resolution of the fiscal cliff. Economic data on offer includes current account numbers and an index of sentiment among home builders.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (CBE JH3) rose 44 points, or 0.3%, to 13,228, while those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index (GLC:SPH3) rose 6.1 points, or 0.4%, to 1,433.10.

Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (CME:NDH3) rose 14 points, or 0.5%, to 2,676.
“Even the slightest rumors of any kind of progress is moving the markets and I think that’s what we’re seeing these days and what we’ll be seeing in the coming days as well,” said Henrik Drusebjerg, senior strategist at Nordea Bank.

Late Monday, President Barack Obama reportedly backed off a long-standing demand for higher taxes on households earning more than $250,000 a year. Instead, Obama called for a return to Bush-era tax rates for households earning more than $400,000, potentially moving both sides closer to a budget deal, according to media reports.
The spokesman for chief Republican negotiating partner John Boehner said it was a “step in the right direction,” though he added the White House is still asking for too much tax revenue and not enough cuts, according to The Wall Street Journal. As part of the deal, Obama dropped the amount of tax revenue he is looking for to $1.2 trillion from $1.4 trillion, the report said.

U.S. stocks finished higher on Monday amid hopes of a deal, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI JIA) climbing 100.38 points, or 0.8%, to close at 13,235.39, its first gain in four sessions. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fiscal-cliff...beforebell