By Riva Gold 

Global stocks edged higher on Tuesday as investors anticipated further stimulus from the European Central Bank later in the week.

The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.2% midway through the session, helped by a rally in U.K. bank stocks. For November, the pan-European index gained 2.7% as investors bet the ECB would further loosen monetary policy at its meeting on December 3.

U.S. stock futures indicated a 0.5% opening gain for the S&P 500, after it fell on Monday as retail shares lost ground. Changes in futures aren't necessarily reflected in market moves after the opening bell.

More stimulus from the ECB is likely to boost markets, although the impact may be smaller than before, according to Nick Nelson, head of global equity strategy at UBS in London.

"Investors are waiting for Thursday for more clarity from the ECB. That's the current mood of the markets," he said.

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 central bank kept rates on hold.

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 Yen122.9760. The onshore Chinese yuan was mostly steady after the International Monetary Fund gave it reserve-currency status on Monday.

In commodities, Brent crude was up 0.3% at $44.75 a barrel, while gold gained 0.3% to $1,068.10 a troy ounce.

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 in Lloyds Banking Group PLC were up 2.4%, shares in Barclays PLC were up 4.0%, and shares in Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC gained 3.2%.

Looking ahead, investors are waiting for comments from Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen, who is slated to speak on Wednesday and Thursday, and the U.S. jobs report on Friday.

On Tuesday, eurozone data confirmed a pick-up in activity for the manufacturing sector -- the purchasing managers index rose to 52.8 from the 52.3 recorded in October.

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," said Neil Williams, group chief economist at Hermes Investment Management.

Write to Neanda Salvaterra at neanda.salvaterra@wsj.com and Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2015 07:30 ET (12:30 GMT)