Stocks set for early bounce

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to open higher Tuesday, ahead of a batch of economic reports, although gains could be limited amid ongoing anxiety about Europe's debt woes.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), Nasdaq (COMP) and S&P 500 (SPX) futures were all about 0.4% higher ahead of the opening bell.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

U.S. stocks got off to a solid start Monday before a downgrade of Greece's debt ratings triggered a wave of selling. The Dow and S&P 500 both ended down about 0.2% and the Nasdaq finished around breakeven.

Moody's cut its rating on Greek debt to junk status on Monday. The move came six weeks after S&P downgraded Greece to junk.

Despite Moody's downgrade of Greek debt Monday, news out of Europe still seems to be more encouraging than earlier this year, said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist with Janney Montgomery Scott.

"The downgrade of debt in Greece was wildly expected and an affirmation of what the market had already baked in," Luschini said. "The market seems to be stabilizing over there and investors are focusing more on what's going on here domestically."

European industrial production increased at a record pace in April, according to the European Union's statistics office. That suggests that the European economy is in recovery mode.

Economy: Before the opening bell, a report from the Labor Department showed May import prices fell 0.6%.

A report on foreign holdings of U.S. Treasurys is slated for release after the market opens.

Companies: Britain's BSkyB snubbed a buyout proposal by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NWS, Fortune 500). News Corp. proposed to buy the share of BSkyB that it does not already own, but BSkyB said the offer, which is not formal, undervalues the company.

Consumer electronics giant Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) will release quarterly results before the opening bell.

Gulf oil spill: Fitch Ratings cut BP (BP)'s credit rating down one notch to a low investment grade just above junk status Tuesday morning. BP executives are scheduled to appear before Congressional committees to testify about the Gulf oil spill. Shares of BP fell another 10% Monday as the company's board met to discuss its dividend policy.

World markets: European shares fell in morning trading. Germany's DAX, the CAC 40 in France and Britain's FTSE 100 all rose about 0.5% in morning trading.

Asian markets manged to close modestly higher. Japan's Nikkei and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong finished with slight gains, while the Shanghai composite rose 0.3%.

Dollar and commodities: The euro, British pound and Japanese yen posted slight gains against the dollar Tuesday.

U.S. light crude oil for July delivery rose 72 cents to $75.84 a barrel.

COMEX gold's August contract rose $1.90 to $1,226.40 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices fell, raising the 10-year note's yield to 3.28% from 3.26% the day before. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.