Wall St futures point to higher open, banks eyed

Banks will be in focus after Barclays Plc said it had started the year well, having beaten expectations with 2009 profits of over 11.6 billion pounds ($18.18 billion) on the back of a strong performance at its investment banking unit.

New York Federal Reserve releases at 1330 GMT (8:30 a.m. EST) its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for February. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 18.0 compared with 15.92 in January.

National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo issue the February housing market index at 1800 GMT. Economists in a Reuters poll expect a reading of 16, compared with 15 in January.

Kraft Foods Inc is due to report earnings. The company said on Monday it had just over 90 percent acceptances from Cadbury Plc shareholders in its takeover of the British confectioner.

At 2200 GMT, ABC News releases its consumer comfort index for the week ended February 14 versus the prior week. In the previous week, the index read -48.

Investors will keep a close eye on Greece. Eurogroup chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said the country must step up efforts to cut its budget deficit and understand that other euro zone citizens are not prepared to pay for its government's mistakes.

Speaking on Deutschlandfunk German radio, Juncker, who heads the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, said if Greece failed to convince its peers within the monetary union with its austerity measures, it faced the risk of sanctions.

If U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to ban proprietary trading at some banks was applied in the European Union, it could be problematic for the bloc's universal banks, an EU document obtained by Reuters said.

The plan, dubbed the Volcker rule, was drafted by White House adviser and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, stunned global markets last month and is already facing resistance in Congress.

U.S. crude oil futures and North Sea Brent crude futures rose over $1 a barrel, spurred by gains in the euro against the dollar.

Australia's central bank intends to raise rates gradually this year to contain inflation, while keeping a wary eye on both sovereign risk abroad and the efforts of China to cool its economy.

European shares rose in morning trading, buoyed by stronger banks. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index was up 0.8 percent.

Japan's Nikkei average edged up 0.2 percent but gains were limited by concerns over risk factors, such as the impact of China's efforts to curb bank lending, and Greece's fiscal woes.

U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the Presidents' Day holiday.

The Dow and S&P 500 dipped on Friday as China's move to curb bank lending and U.S. and European economic data raised fears the global recovery might be in jeopardy.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 45.05 points, or 0.44 percent, to 10,099.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slipped 2.96 points, or 0.27 percent, to 1,075.51. But the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 6.12 points, or 0.28 percent, to 2,183.53.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Louise Heavens)