MW: U.S. stock futures rise on car, infrastructure plans
By Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock-market futures on Monday pointed to an extension of the previous session's rally, rising after lawmakers reportedly agreed on the outline of a deal to rescue the auto industry and President-elect Barack Obama pledged massive new infrastructure investment.
S&P 500 futures rose 25.30 points to 897.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 28.00 points to 1,206.00. Dow Industrials futures jumped 214 points.
Following a sharp payrolls-inspired fall in early trading Friday, U.S. stocks bounced higher after insurer Hartford Financial Services Group lifted its earnings forecast for the year.
On Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 259.18 points, the Nasdaq Composite gained 63.75 points and the S&P 500 added 30.85 points.
The dollar fell sharply against the euro but strengthened against the yen in a quiet day for economic data. The euro gained 1.1% to $1.2872 and the dollar added 0.7% against the Japanese currency to 93.44 yen.
Crude-oil prices gained, with the January-dated light-crude contract rising $1.87 to $42.68 a barrel in electronic trading. Chakib Khelil, the president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said over the weekend that no decision on a production cut had been reached, but that it would be "severe."
Shares in General Motors and Ford Motor Co. both climbed around 19% in pre-open trading after lawmakers neared a deal to rescue the auto industry, with a vote on a bailout possibly coming as early as Tuesday. See full story.
In German trading, Exxon Mobil Corp. gained around 5%, mirroring strong gains for European oil companies. BP and Royal Dutch Shell both climbed more than 5% in London.
NYSE Euronext will also be in focus after it emerged that the exchange operator had held merger talks with Germany's Deutsche Boerse. Der Spiegel magazine reported the two exchange had discussed a deal, But Deutsche Boerse said any talks with its rival had ended without an agreement. See full story.
MetLife Inc. said it expects to report fourth-quarter net income of $1.50 to $2.55 a share after amassing up to $1.8 billion of investment gains. Analysts had been expecting earnings of 80 cents a share.
On the downside, shares in semiconductor group Infineon Technologies fell 6.9% after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company to neutral from buy, saying capital- structure concerns are likely to persist over coming months.
Other markets were higher across the globe, with Japan's Nikkei 225 up more than 5% and the French CAC 40 index gaining 6.7%.