LONDON (ShareCast) - US stocks edge higher on Tuesday, as markets looked set to return to normality after the sell-off sparked by the Greek crisis.
Just after 15:00 BST, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 43.36 points to 17,639.71, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were nine and 29 points higher respectively.

A glimmer of hope for Greece

European indices popped into positive territory as investors reacted to reports that Athens may be considering a last-minute offer by European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker.

"Movements are being dictated by the sporadic, sometimes contradictory, and largely unclear dispatches from Greece and its creditors," said Spreadex's financial analyst Connor Campbell.

"Meaning the current, if mild, positivity could easily switch back to a darker shade of red if these rumours begin to dissipate."

The dollar pulled back some of Monday's losses against the euro, climbing 0.35% against the European currency.

The greenback fell 0.13% against the pound and fell 0.31% against the yen, while gold futures declined 0.76% to $1,170.00.

"The Greek deadline is looming and New York will be paying close attention to Athens tonight," said David Madden, market analyst at IG.

"The US market has a short week as Friday is a holiday, and traders want to close out their positions ahead of the long weekend."

Elsewhere, Chinese shares bounced back from Monday's steep decline, while Japan's Nikkei edged 0.63% higher.

Oil prices rose, with West Texas Intermediate gaining 0.58% to $58.60 a barrel, while Brent crude rose 1.08% to $62.69 a barrel.

Tuesday data

US house prices climbed 1.1% in April, figures released on Tuesday showed.

According to the Case-Shiller 20-city composite index, prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in April, climbing 4.9% year-on-year.

The Chicago PMI rose in June but fell short of expectations as it failed to cross the 50 threshold that signals expansion.

The index rose from 46.2 last to 49.4 in June, the fourth month the gauge has fallen below the 50 level this year, against analysts' expectations calling for a 50.6 reading.

Meanwhile, US consumer confidence beat forecast in June, according to figures released by The Conference Board on Tuesday.

The index climbed to 101.4 in June from a downwardly revised 94.6 reading in May, exceeding economist forecast of 97.5.

"Over the past two months, consumers have grown more confident about the current state of business and employment conditions," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board.

In company news, Microsoft shed 0.5% after saying on Monday it will exit the ad-sales business and has contracted AOL to handle all its ad sales across Microsoft's properties.

General Electric edged 0.23% higher after reaching an agreement to sell its European private-equity finance business to Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. for about $2.2bn.

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