By Anora Mahmudova and Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed higher
Monday as a flurry of merger news and better-than-expected earnings
from Citigroup Inc. lifted investor sentiment.
The banking heavyweight's profit topped estimates, while it also
reached a $7 billion settlement with the U.S. Justice Department
over shoddy mortgage-backed securities.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) rose 76
points, or 0.5%, to 16,957, while those for the S&P 500 index
(SPU4) picked up 8 points, or 0.4%, to 1,970. The Nasdaq 100 index
(NDU4) was up 18 points, or 0.5%, to 3,916.
The pace of the second-quarter earnings season will move into
high gear this week with results due from large companies in the
financial and technology sectors, the two largest sectors in the
S&P 500 index (SPX).
The banking sector and "valuations are going to remain the main
focus for this week, as we will get the earnings from some of the
biggest tycoons of Wall Street," said Naeem Aslam, chief market
analyst at AvaTrade, in a note. "The expectations are high, and
investors are hoping that these earnings will cement the optimism
that growth is on track in the U.S. and the revenues are
healthy."
Before the opening bell on Monday, Citigroup (C) shares rose 4%
in premarket trade after the bank beat profit and revenue
estimates. The bank also said it reached a $7 billion settlement
with the U.S. Justice Department. The agreement settles allegations
that the bank sold shoddy mortgage-backed securities leading up to
the financial crisis.
There are no Federal Reserve speakers or data reports on the
calendar Monday, though Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen will field
questions from Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday. This week will
see the retail sales report for June on Tuesday, which could offer
clues about whether consumers are starting to feel more optimistic.
Also on the docket this week are reports on new home construction,
manufacturing and consumer sentiment.
Outside of corporate earnings, shares of drug maker AbbVie Inc.
(ABBV) may be active after Shire PLC (SHPGY) said Monday it has
received a new takeover offer from AbbVie, and that it's willing to
recommend the deal, now valued at more than $53 billion, to its
shareholders.
Mylan Inc. shares (MYL) tacked on 3% premarket following news of
the drug company's plan to buy a portion of Abbott Laboratories
(ABT) generics business in a deal valued at $5.3 billion.
Aecom Technology Corp. (ACM) said Sunday it is buying
engineering and construction company URS Corp. (URS) for $4 billion
in cash and stock, and will assume $2 billion in debt, bringing the
deal's total cost to $6 billion.
Whiting Petroleum Corp. on Sunday said it plans to buy Kodiak
Oil & Gas Corp. (KOG.V) in a deal worth $3.8 billion.
In the commodities market, futures for August crude oil (CLQ4)
fell 13 cents to $100.70 a barrel and gold futures (GCQ4) fell $23
to $1,314 an ounce.
Asian stocks overnight finished broadly higher, with Tokyo's
Nikkei Average ending up by 0.9%. European stocks rose as fears
about the soundness of Portuguese banks receded.
More news from MarketWatch:
Chocolate maker Lindt in talks to buy Russell Stover
Apple denies it's a threat to China's security
Chinese man builds his own Tesla-charging network
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires