Stocks: Mixed signals out of Europe

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were set to open little changed Tuesday as jittery investors were faced with mixed signals out of Europe amid continued anxiety over the continent's debt crisis.

On one hand, Moody's downgraded six eurozone countries -- Italy, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain -- late Monday, and the credit rating agency also warned that it may also cut the outlooks for Aaa-rated Austria, France and the United Kingdom to "negative."

On the other hand, investors may be heartened by the fact that Moody's didn't downgrade the eurozone's bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Fund.

Also on the bright side, investors showed strong demand for Italian debt in the latest round of auctions. German investor confidence also continued to rebound for a third straight month, rising to a 10-month high in February.

As investors digested the news, U.S. stock future edged higher. The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were up between 0.1% and 0.2%. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Meanwhile, investors remain on edge ahead of a meeting of eurozone finance ministers, who will consider the latest bailout for Greece when they meet Wednesday. The Greek Parliament voted early Monday to approve a package of austerity measures aimed at securing the bailout, worth €130 billion, from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.

Stocks rose on the news Monday, but the gains were modest as worries about Greece's fate continue to dominate.

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World markets: European stocks were higher in midday trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) rose 0.1% and the DAX (DAX) in Germany gained 0.4%, while France's CAC 40 (CAC40) added 0.3%.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) fell 0.3% while the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong rose 0.2%. An unexpected step by the Bank of Japan to ease its monetary policy sent the Nikkei (N225) higher by 0.6%.

Japan's central bank said it would expand its asset-purchase program to ¥65 trillion from ¥55 trillion by boosting its purchases of Japanese government bonds. The Bank of Japan also set an inflation target of 1%.

Later Tuesday, President Obama will welcome China's Vice President Xi Jinping for a two-day visit to Washington.

Economy: Retail sales for January are expected to have risen by 0.8%, according to a survey of economists by Briefing.com, after increasing by 0.1% the month prior.

December business inventories are expected to have increased by 0.5%, following a 0.3% increase in November.

On Capitol Hill, the Senate finance and budget committees will discuss President Obama's budget proposal

Companies: Shares of Michael Kors (KORS) popped after the fashion label posted better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter earnings and revenue, and also issued upbeat guidance for the fourth quarter.

Zipcar (ZIP), which made its stock market debut last April, posted a profit of $3.9 million, as revenues rose 21% to $62.9 million and total membership jumped 25% during the quarter.

After the closing bell, social gaming company Zynga (ZNGA) will post fourth- quarter results, its first report since its IPO in December.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro, but gained ground versus the British pound and Japanese yen.

Oil for March delivery rose 37 cents to $101.28 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $5 to $1,719.90 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury was higher, with the yield falling to 1.97% from 1.99% late Monday.