NDAQ Nasdaq Inc

Global stocks rose Tuesday as investors expect more stimulus from the European Central Bank later in the week.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.3% in early trade. For November, the pan-European index gained 2.7% as investors bet the ECB would further loosen monetary policy at its meeting on Dec. 3.

"ECB action on Thursday is probably the world's worst kept secret," said Neil Williams, group chief economist at Hermes Investment Management, pointing to a possible expansion of the bank's bond-buying program and noting that further cuts to the already negative deposit rate look "inevitable".

Shares also saw a boost from downbeat Chinese manufacturing data, which raised concerns about the strength of the Chinese economy while lifting hopes for easier monetary policy. The Shanghai Composite Index was up 0.3%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.3% to close above the 20,000 mark for the first time since August. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 1.8%, while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 1.9% after its c entral bank kept rates on hold.

U.S. stocks fell on Monday as retail shares lost ground, leaving major indexes little changed for November. For the month, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3%, while the S&P 500 gained just 0.05%. The Nasdaq rose 1.1%, buoyed by gains in the technology sector.

In currencies, the euro was up 0.2% against the dollar at $1.0587 while the dollar was down 0.3% against the yen at ¥ 122.9760.

The onshore Chinese yuan was mostly steady after the International Monetary Fund gave the yuan reserve-currency status on Monday.

In commodities, Brent crude was up 0.8% at $44.97 a barrel.

Gold gained 0.6% at $1,071.

Gains in European shares were led by the banking sector after The Bank of England said it would ease pressure on U.K. banks to hold more capital.

Shares of Lloyds Banking Group PLC were up 2.6%, shares of Standard Chartered PLC were up 2.3%, and shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC gained 2.2%.

Looking ahead Tuesday, manufacturing data continues to pour in with releases due from the U.S., U.K., and eurozone.

While the ECB is expected to further ease policy this week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade.

"The fact they'll be taking different routes—the ECB loosening, the Fed tightening—is a given; what markets need now is guidance on how fast they'll be traveling and how far they'll end up going," Mr. Williams said.

Further clarity on that may come from Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, who is slated to speak on Wednesday and Thursday, and the blockbuster U.S. jobs report on Friday.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2015 04:25 ET (09:25 GMT)

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