Stock futures signal gains; eyes on Kraft
U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 up 0.8 to 1 percent.
Kraft Foods Inc
Kraft took a 9.9 billion pound ($16.37 billion) hostile offer for Cadbury to shareholders two weeks ago. Most of the remaining large players in the global confectionery industry -- U.S.-based Hershey Co
A group of U.S. business economists boosted their forecast for economic growth over the next year, but said the jobless rate will remain stubbornly high, a survey released on Monday showed.
The National Association for Business Economists predicted real growth in gross domestic product for 2010 would be 2.9 percent, up from its October forecast for 2.6 percent growth.
A senior U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Sunday the central bank should keep alive its mortgage-related assets purchase program beyond a planned end-date to give policymakers more flexibility as they seek to help the economy recover from a painful recession.
Ciena Corp
Microsoft Corp
Fertilizer maker Terra Industries Inc
Shares of Activision Blizzard Inc
Commodity stocks will be in focus as crude prices rose more than 1 percent to top $78 a barrel after the U.S. dollar lost its footing and heightened tensions between key oil exporter Iran and Western nations raised speculation of a potential supply threat.
Spot gold hit a record high and key base metals prices rose, supported by a weakness in the dollar.
The day's earnings calendar includes quarterly results from Campbell Soup
China's annual economic growth will reach 10 percent this quarter and grow even faster in the first quarter of 2010, Yu Bin, a government researcher with the State Council Development Research Center said in remarks published on Monday.
General Motors
Health insurer Humana Inc
European equities rose, snapping a four-day losing streak, with firmer crude and metal prices boosting commodity shares. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares was up 1.5 percent at 1,017.56 points.
U.S. stocks fell for a third straight day on Friday as investors took weaker-than-expected results from computer maker Dell
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 14.28 points, or 0.14 percent, to 10,318.16. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 3.52 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,091.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slipped 10.78 points, or 0.50 percent, to 2,146.04.
(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; editing by John Stonestreet)
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