Renewed strength among Europe's major market averages has helped inspire domestic traders to do some buying. As such, the stock market is expected to open with a sharp, broad-based gain. Gold and silver have both shared in the strength, as has crude oil. Aside from the buying effort abroad, there really haven't been any cues for trade this morning; the economic calendar is essentially empty and there is only a dearth of companies slated to announce quarterly results.

Company news:

Lowe’s Cos., the second-largest U.S. home-improvement retailer, rose 3.3 percent after saying it plans to buy back $5 billion of its own stock over the next two-to-three years.