Europe seen higher as ECB approaches

European markets are expected to open higher on Wednesday, a day ahead of the European Central Bank's (ECB) where it is expected to announce a full-scale bond-buying program.

The FTSE is called higher by 13 points at 6,633, the German DAX up 4 points at 10,261 and the French CAC up 7 points at 4,4543.

The former U.S. Treasury Secretary Larry Summers warned of weakness in the deflation-hit euro zone economy on Tuesday evening, saying that it is on the "brink of deflating" and urgently needs more stimulus, particularly from Germany, Reuters reported.

Summers was speaking in London before heading to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which kicks off Wednesday. Some 40 heads of state and government, as well as global business leaders, will be attending the event, including Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, French President François Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

In Asia, most equity markets raked in gains early Wednesday, bolstered by hopes of ECB stimulus.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept monetary policy unchanged on Wednesday, but cut its core consumer inflation projections issued three months ago, largely due to a collapse in global oil prices. The central bank's governor Haruhiko Kuroda is due to hold a news conference in the afternoon to explain the policy decision.

Elsewhere, U.S. President Barack Obama used his State of the Nation address on Tuesday to ask for a broad package of tax and other reforms in his annual address to lawmakers. He trumpeted the success of "middle-class economics" but also pushed for more reform. He called for unity from the Republican-led Congress to fight terrorism too.

In the oil markets, U.S. crude futures edged up on Wednesday following steep losses a day earlier but remained below $47 a barrel amid worries over sluggish demand after the International Monetary Fund cut its 2015 global economic forecast. London Brent crude for March delivery was untraded yet, after settling down 85 cents at $47.99.

On the back of the decline in oil prices, French oil and gas group Total aims to reduce capital spending by 10 percent this year, its new chief executive Patrick Pouyanne told the Financial Times on Tuesday.

Corporate reports are due from Alstom, ASML Holding, Bankinter, SABMiller, JD Wetherspoon, BHP Billiton and Land Securities. The U.K. unemployment rate for November is published at 09:30 a.m. GMT, the same time as the minutes from the Bank of England's latest monetary policy committee are due.