MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures rallied sharply in the early hours of Tuesday and gold prices dropped after media reports said Russian troops were called back to their bases after military exercises in the central and western part of the country. In a reversal of the sharp losses seen on Monday, amid escalating tensions over the Ukraine/Russia crisis, futures for the S&P 500 index sph4 jumped 10.3 points, or 0.6%, to 1,853.40. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average djh4 rose 100 points, or 0.6%, to 16,248 and those for the Nasdaq 100 index ndh4 gained 23.25 point, or 0.6%, to 3,692. Gold gch4 and oil CLJ24, futures, which rallied as investors sought to back off of riskier assets on Monday, fell 0.8% each in early Tuesday trading.