Stocks ready to rise

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open higher Tuesday after a strong earnings report from Goldman Sachs.

Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were slightly higher ahead of the opening bell.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

Stocks ended mostly higher Monday after a choppy trading day as optimism over Citigroup's strong profit report was offset by worries over the fallout from the SEC's fraud suit against Goldman Sachs.

Goldman: Shares of Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) rose 2% in premarket trading after the bank reported profits of $3.5 billion Tuesday, delivering a much-needed shot to the firm's ailing reputation as it faces questions over its role in structuring a security tied to subprime mortgages.

On a per-share basis, Goldman earned $5.59 per share. Consensus estimates were for the company to record a profit of $2.4 billion, or $4.01 per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

But investors and analysts will most likely focus on the civil fraud suit brought against by the company last week by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The fraud suit has weighed on Wall Street, although reports saying regulators were split on the decision to bring charges against Goldman helped lift investor sentiment.

Goldman is scheduled to hold a conference call to discuss the SEC charges and its first-quarter results later Tuesday.

Earnings: IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) reported a 13% jump in quarterly earnings late Monday and boosted its outlook for the rest of the year, citing strong software sales. IBM shares, which rose Monday ahead of the report, slipped nearly 2% in premarket trading.

Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) are due to report their latest financial results after U.S. markets close.

World markets: European shares posted strong gains in early trading. Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 both gained more than 1%, while the FTSE 100 in Britain was up about 0.7%.

Asian markets ended the session mixed. Japan's Nikkei slipped, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong rallied 1%.

Other markets: Oil prices rebounded Tuesday after falling nearly 3% the day before.

Crude for May delivery was up $1.15 to $82.60 a barrel. The May contract could see a volatile day as Tuesday marks the contract's expiration.

Trading in the June contract has already made it the dominant contract. Crude for June delivery was up 82 cents to $83.95 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the dollar continued to drift, treading water against the euro at about $1.35. The greenback slid 0.4% against the British pound to $1.54. The dollar was up 0.4% versus the yen at ¥92.79.

Treasurys were lower across the board with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note edging up to $3.8%.