RTRS: US STOCKS-Index futures up as oil rises on Israeli attacks
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Monday as a jump in oil prices in the wake of escalating political tensions in the Middle East could bolster energy shares.
Oil prices CLc1 rose more that $3 a barrel to more than $40, while the price of gold also surged as Israeli warplanes hit the Hamas-ruled Gaza strip for a third day and Israel prepared to launch a possible invasion. For details, see [ID:nLT345484].
In company news, Kuwait decided over the weekend to end a deal to form a $17.4 billion petrochemical joint venture with U.S. company Dow Chemical (DOW.N), possibly upsetting Dow's plans to buy rival Rohm & Haas (ROH.N). [ID:nLS308821].
Shares of Dow were down 8.2 percent at $17.75 in premarket trade, while Rohm & Hass tumbled 17.6 percent to $52.40.
Trading was expected to be light throughout the week shortened by the New Year's holiday. The market has been unable to mount a significant year-end rally that many investors had hoped for.
The broad S&P 500 is down about 40 percent for the year, putting it behind 1931's 47.1 percent record drop.
"It's going to be a quiet week with a focus on (upcoming) earnings and the geopolitical concerns we have in the Middle East," said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New Jersey.
"Over the recent months, analysts have been ratcheting down their earnings forecasts so now the game is to beat the revised numbers."
S&P 500 futures SPc1 rose 2.90 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures DJc1 climbed 30 points, and Nasdaq 100 NDc1 futures added 7.50 points.
A consortium of private equity and hedge fund firms, including J.C. Flowers & Co is close to a deal to buy the assets of failed mortgage lender IndyMac, according to a source familiar with the matter.
