Global stock markets hovered around record-high levels on Tuesday, as investors bet on solid growth in the economy and corporate profits globally.

On Wall Street, the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a gain of 9 points, or roughly 0.2%, at the open, the blue-chip Dow futures rose 12 points, or less than 0.1%, while the S&P 500 futures ticked up 1 point.

In Europe, stocks headed for their best 3-day rise since April, with Germany's DAX, France's CAC and Britain's FTSE firmly in the green in mid-morning trade, boosted by gains in media shares.

Earlier, Asian shares ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei rising to a near two-year high, while mainland Chinese stocks ended lower ahead of MSCI's decision on the potential inclusion of China A-shares in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

The British Pound dropped to a one-week low and took out the $1.27-level on Tuesday after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said now was not the time to raise interest rates, dashing some investors' hopes that the central bank had shifted in that direction.

In a rescheduled speech to bankers at Mansion House in London, Carney said weak wage growth raised questions about the strength of domestic inflationary pressures, and he was unsure how the economy would respond to talks between the U.K. government and the rest of European Union on the terms of their separation.

The pound hit intraday lows against major rivals on the dovish remarks falling as far as 1.2670 against the dollar. GBP/USD was last at 1.2688 in New York morning trade, down around 0.4%.

Market players will focus on a pair of Federal Reserve speakers on Tuesday, as they look for more clues on future monetary policy moves.

Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren speaks at 12:15 GMT at the DNB-Riksbank Macroprudential Conference Series meeting in Amsterdam. Later in the day, Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan will speak in San Francisco at the Commonwealth Club of California at 19:00 GMT.

Fed Vice Chair Stanley Fischer did not address the outlook for U.S. monetary policy or the economy when he spoke in Amsterdam earlier in the day. Hawkish remarks made by influential New York Fed Chief William Dudley on Monday reinforced expectations for the Fed to keep raising interest rates.

The USD reached a 3-week high of 111.79 versus the JPY in overnight trade, before falling back to 111.63, up roughly 0.1%.

Oil prices stayed near their lowest level in around seven weeks on Tuesday, as the market weighed ongoing efforts by major producers to cut output and reduce a global glut against a relentless increase in U.S. drilling activity.

U.S. crude was at $44.39 a barrel, down 4 cents, or around 0.1%, while Brent shed 3 cents to $46.88.

Investors looked ahead to weekly data from the U.S. on stockpiles of crude and refined products.

Industry group the American Petroleum Institute is due to release its weekly report at 20:30 GMT later on Tuesday. Official data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday, amid forecasts for an oil-stock drop of around 2.2 million barrels.