U.S. stock futures rallied on Monday as a plan designed to get private investors to take some of the toxic debt off bank balance sheets was released. S&P 500 futures rose 22.2 points to 786.30 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 27.25 points to 1,215.20. Dow industrial futures added 193 points. Stocks across the globe have rallied over the last two weeks -- with the S&P 500 up over 12% -- helped in part by the Federal Reserve's move to buy $300 billion of longer-dated Treasurys as well as a belief by some investors that stocks are undervalued. U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Monday provided details about the government's latest plan to help rid banks of toxic assets clogging the financial system. Ahead of a speech, Treasury released details of the plan. The Treasury Department's program involves setting up a new investment fund to buy mortgage-related securities and other assets weighing down bank balance sheets. The new Public Private Investment Program would combine taxpayer money with private funds, aiming to buy loans and free up banks to renew lending. The program will buy assets with AAA ratings at origination, with the government auctioning off securities banks want to sell. The highest bidder will have access to fund 50% of the equity requirement. Analysts still were skeptical about the program as described, with the familiar worries about prices: if too high, private money won't come in, and if too low, banks won't want to sell the troubled assets stuck on their balance sheet. "The U.S. authorities claim that if banks are able to unload the troubled assets it will be easier for them again to raise private capital," said credit strategists at UniCredit. "This is true, but this still doesn't mean that most of the banks are already safe. If the size of the problem for a specific bank is too high, selling the assets to the market will mean that the bank will be practically insolvent." Nonetheless, banks rallied. Citigroup rose 24% and Bank of America added 17% in pre-market trade. Financials also advanced in overseas trade. Mizuho Financial rose 5.3% in Tokyo, helping the Nikkei 225 climb 3.4%, and Deutsche Bank rose 6% in Frankfurt, helping the DAX 30 rise 1.4%. The dollar fell vs. the euro and the British pound, and the safe haven of gold also dropped, losing about $6 an ounce. Oil futures edged higher, up 51 cents a barrel. Beyond the bank rescue plan, Monday's calendar also includes existing home sales for February. Suncor Energy said it will buy Petro-Canada for about $15 billion of stock, in a deal combining two major Canadian energy providers with particular strength in oil sands. Petro-Canada rose 21% in pre-market trade, and Suncor rose nearly 5%. Daimler rose 3% after an Abu Dhabi investor said it would buy 1.95 billion euros worth of the automaker's stock at a 4% discount to Friday's close.

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