LONDON (MarketWatch) - U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street on Wednesday, boosted by progress toward a bailout program for troubled automakers.
"Agreement appears to be forming between the Bush administration and Democrats on providing federal loans to General Motors and Chrysler -- this has been supportive of equities overnight," wrote strategists at HBOS.
News reports said the White House and congressional Democrats reached an agreement in principle on a $15 billion bailout plan late Tuesday. See full story.
S&P 500 futures gained 15.5 points to 905, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 19.75 points to 1,236.75. Dow Industrials futures rose 130 points to 8,850.
Shares of General Motors Corp. were up more than 5% in German trading Wednesday morning, while Ford Motor Co. shares were up 2.5%.
U.S. markets retreated Tuesday after a round of gloomy earnings projections. See Tuesday's Snapshot.
The Dow industrials dropped 242.85 points, the S&P 500 fell 21.03 points and the Nasdaq 100 lost 24.4 points.
The economic calendar is light, with U.S. wholesale-inventories data set for release at 10 a.m. Eastern. October inventories are expected to show a 0.2% decline after declining 0.1% in September.
The U.S. Treasury will release the November federal budget statement at 2 p.m. Eastern.
"Market participants may be more focused on developments related to the auto bailout," wrote economists at RDQ Economics in New York.
The dollar was narrowly mixed against major currencies. The euro rose 0.2% to $1.2948, while the dollar rose 0.4% versus the yen to 92.69 yen.
Oil prices were higher in early futures trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Light crude for January delivery rose $2.34 to $44.42 a barrel.
In international markets, Japan's Nikkei 225 rose 3.1% and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index rose 0.4%.
