Stocks futures rise, suggesting higher open
NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks headed for a moderately higher open Tuesday as global stock markets rebounded from a widespread pullback brought on by renewed concerns about credit.
Big names on Wall Street such as Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. have stirred gloom on Wall Street of late by taking or warning of big write-downs on debt tied to faltering mortgages.
Citi and Merrill, among others, have been bombarded by securities they hold that are tied to subprime loans, those made to borrowers with poor credit. A sharp pullback in housing prices has tripped up borrowers and sent mortgages defaults higher. That soured debt has come back to haunt banks.
While investors appeared willing to look past some unease about subprime debt on Tuesday, concern about inflation persists, with gold prices surging past $800. Gold has in recent sessions moved above the psychological benchmark; before its recent movement it hadn't traded above $800 since 1980.
With no major economic news due Tuesday, investors will be focused on the corporate results.
Agricultural processor Archer Daniels Midland Co. said its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 9 percent as improved results at its oilseeds processing business offset higher corn prices. Office Depot Inc. and Molson Coors Brewing Co. were also due to report.
Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 61, or 0.45 percent, to 13,616. After choppy trading in recent sessions, the Dow now sits more than 620 points below its record close on Oct. 9.
Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 7.30, or 0.48 percent, to 1,512.70 and Nasdaq 100 index futures 12.75, or 0.58 percent, to 2,225.50.
Bonds fell, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 4.36 percent from 4.34 percent late Monday. The dollar reached yet another record low against the euro Tuesday. The 13-nation currency rose to a high of $1.4556 in mid-afternoon trading before falling back slightly to $1.4543.
Light, sweet crude jumped $1.81 to $95.79 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In addition, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is scheduled to speak in San Antonio on early Tuesday afternoon. As always, investors will be watching for any clues about policymaker's reading of the economy. They're particularly anxious after the Fed indicated last week that it might stop lowering rates. Investors are also awaiting his scheduled testimony Thursday before Congress' Joint Economic Committee.
Tech stocks could get a boost from investor enthusiasm over Chinese e-commerce portal Alibaba.com. The stock nearly tripled in its debut on the Hong Kong stock market Tuesday. Some analysts dismissed the run-up as the work of speculators, however. The company, in which Yahoo Inc. is an investor, allows companies in China and overseas to trade with one another online. Alibaba raised $1.5 billion through its global offering of a 17 percent stake -- the biggest IPO by a Chinese Internet company.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 1.62 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.71 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.42 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.53 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.40 percent.