Stock futures rise as Russia oil fears ease

U.S. stock futures were mostly staying in positive territory ahead of Tuesday's opening bell as Asia markets also advanced.

Dow Jones industrial average index futures rose 0.1%, Standard & Poor's 500 index futures added 0.3% and Nasdaq index futures were down 0.2%.

On Wall Street Monday, the Dow added 181.55 points, or 1.1% percent, to 16,247.22. The S&P 500 rose 17.70 points, or 1%, to 1,858.83 and the Nasdaq composite rose 34.55 points, or 0.8%, to 4,279.95.

In Asia, the regional heavyweight, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index, rose 0.9% to 14,411.27 and China's Shanghai composite index added 0.1% to 2,025.95. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.4% to 21,551.82.

European shares moved broadly lower. Britain's FTSE 100 index declined 0.3%.

MONDAY: What Crimean crisis? Dow ends up 1.1%

"While yesterday's strong rally in stock markets was a welcome development after the strong losses over the last few days, the prospect for unpleasant surprises still remains high with the potential for further flash points on Ukraine's eastern border," Michael Hewson of CMC Markets wrote in a blog post.

"Markets largely shrugged off the sanctions announced yesterday by the EU on 21 Russian and Ukrainian individuals with travel bans and asset freezes; while President Obama went on to supplement these sanctions with some of his own on close advisers to Russian President (Vladimir) Putin."

Oil fell to below $98 per barrel after the threat of disruption to Russian supplies eased.

Benchmark U.S. crude for April delivery declined 14 cents to $97.94 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract shed 81 cents to $98.08 on Monday as concern about possible disruption of supplies from Russia, the biggest exporter, eased.

The Federal Reserve begins a two-day meeting that will end Wednesday with a policy statement from chair Janet Yellen.