Stock index futures pointed to a rebound on Wall Street on Monday following last week's sharp sell-off, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.82 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.74 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.51 percent at 4:15 a.m. EST.

Embattled Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke edged closer to winning support for a second term after the Senate's Republican leader predicted confirmation and Democrats aimed to have a vote this week.

Bernanke's prospects appeared shaky last week when two Senate Democrats announced their opposition. Uncertainty on Bernanke's confirmation rattled investors, contributing to the worst three-day slide for U.S. stocks in 10 months.

Tech and consumer electronics stocks will be in the spotlight on Monday, ahead of quarterly results from Apple and Texas Instruments and after Dutch conglomerate Philips

posted forecast-beating results while telecoms gear maker Ericsson reported quarterly core operating profit in line with market expectations.

Sam's Club, the warehouse club division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc , is cutting roughly 11,200 jobs, or about 10 percent of its workforce, as it outsources in-store product demonstrations and eliminates positions used to recruit new business members.

Cisco Systems' chief executive said on Monday he expected the spat between Google Inc. and China to be resolved, saying the issue was part of a natural give and take.

Novartis AG's bid to buy out minority shareholders in Alcon does not fairly value their holdings, one of the largest investors in the eyecare group said.

Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> hit a four-week closing low on Monday, with exporters such as Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> among the biggest losers, while European stocks were slightly down in morning trade, as investors took a breather after last week's steep three-session selloff fueled by the White House's plan to limit risk taking by financial institutions.

On the macro side, investors will keep an eye on monthly U.S. home sales data, due at 1500 GMT (10 a.m. EST).

U.S. stocks capped their worst three-day slide in 10 months on Friday on fears the White House's plan to curb bank risk-taking would cut profits, and tech shares slumped after Google Inc's disappointing results.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 216.90 points, or 2.09 percent, to 10,172.98. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 24.72 points, or 2.21 percent, to 1,091.76. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 60.41 points, or 2.67 percent, to 2,205.29.

For the week, the Dow dropped 4.1 percent, the S&P 500 lost 3.9 percent and the Nasdaq tumbled 3.6 percent. It was the worst week for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq since October and the worst week for the Dow since March.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)

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