Wall Street looks set for second day of gains

NEW YORK — Stock futures are rising, potentially setting up another day of gains on Wall Street.

Roughly one hour ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 101 points, or 1 percent, to 10,948. S&P 500 index futures are up 12 points, or 1 percent, to 1,135. Nasdaq 100 futures are up 21 points, or 1 percent, at 2,065.

Reports on manufacturing in Europe and China boosted sentiment Tuesday. And many investors are hoping Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will announce some kind of assistance Friday for the flagging U.S. economy.

In premarket trading, UBS AG is up 4 percent, after the Swiss bank said it planned on cutting 3,500 jobs worldwide in the hope of saving $2.5 billion by the end of next year. UBS’s stock has dropped 20 percent this year.

Goldman Sachs is up 1 percent. The bank’s stock fell sharply late Monday following news that its CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, hired a prominent defense lawyer. The Justice Department is looking into Goldman’s actions leading up to the 2008 financial crisis.

H.J. Heinz Co. fell 1 percent in premarket trading after the world’s largest ketchup maker said profits fell 6 percent in the most recent quarter. Heinz lowered its earnings estimate for the year.

Major indexes eked out minor gains Monday following a four-week losing streak. The S&P 500 index has dropped 16 percent since July 22 and 13 percent this month. The broad market measure is on track for its worst August since the Asian financial crisis rattled markets in 1998.

Later Tuesday morning, the Commerce Department will release its monthly report on new-home sales. Economists expect the number of people who bought new homes in July rose slightly.