Cash for Citi, lower oil could lift Wall Street

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks appeared poised for recovery Tuesday after sinking into a correction the previous session, as investors watched oil prices fall and weighed news that a Middle East government was investing $7.5 billion in embattled Citigroup.

At 6:31 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were stronger, suggesting gains at the market open.

Investors took a big hit on Monday, when the major indexes each fell about 2 percent on the day to leave them down 10 percent from the highs they reached in October. That 10 percent decline marks a correction in stocks and raised concerns about whether further declines lay ahead, which helped push the yield on the benchmark Treasury yield to a 2-1/2 year low as investors fled to the quality of those securities.

There was some reassurance for investors about the nation's financial system late Monday when Citigroup (Charts, Fortune 500) announced that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will invest $7.5 billion in the bank in return for stake of no more than 4.9 percent. Shares of Dow component Citi gained 5 percent in early Frankfurt trading. The news also lifted other bank shares trading in Europe.

Oil prices retreated, with the price of a barrel of light sweet crude dropping $1.30 to $96.40 in early trading amid growing expectations that OPEC ministers will agree to raise crude production when they meet in early December.

As stocks attempt to rebound, they'll take in a report on consumer confidence, due at 10 a.m. ET. The Conference Board's November reading is expected to fall to 91.5 from 95.6 in October.

In global trade, markets in Asia finished the session mixed. Japanese stocks gained while Hong Kong stocks fell. European markets were mostly lower in midday trading.

In other corporate news, stocks of cable operators could get a lift Tuesday as a proposal to have the Federal Communication Commission vote to impose tighter control on the industry reportedly ran into trouble.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the FCC might not even hold the scheduled Tuesday meeting due to internal disagreements on the board. Shares of the two largest cable operators, Comcast (Charts) and Time Warner Cable (Charts), both gained in after-hours trading, although shares of Time Warner Cable and parent Time Warner (Charts, Fortune 500) both sank in early Frankfurt trading. CNNMoney.com is also a unit of Time Warner.

Countrywide Financial (Charts, Fortune 500), the nation's largest mortgage lender which late Monday faced calls for a congressional probe into loans made to it by the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta, is set to talk to have management speak to an investors conference at 10 a.m. ET Tuesday.

Homebuilder Pulte Homes (Charts, Fortune 500) said Monday demand for new housing is weak and supply levels are high but the nation's No. 4 builder by revenue reaffirmed its fourth-quarter guidance. Shares rebounded 4.8 percent in after-hours trading on the statement, after losing nearly 5 percent in regular-hours trading earlier in the day.