By Saumya Vaishampayan
U.S. stock futures rose Monday, pointing to a higher open after
the Dow and S&P notched three straight sessions of records.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 25 points, or 0.1%,
to 17526. S&P 500 futures gained three points, or 0.2%, to 2029
and Nasdaq-100 futures advanced 12 points, or 0.3%, to 4163.
Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict moves in
the stock market after the opening bell.
Crude-oil futures gained 1.1% to $79.53 a barrel. As of Friday,
crude-oil futures had tumbled nearly 27% from a June 20 high.
Stock futures rose Monday partly in response to the gain in oil
prices, said Dave Lutz, head of exchange-traded fund trading at
JonesTrading Institutional Services. "Investors are...hoping that
the commodities have found a bottom," he said.
The Dow and S&P ended at records Friday after the jobs
report for October reaffirmed that the U.S. economy continues to
recover at a moderate pace. The Dow gained 0.1% to 17573.93 and the
S&P inched up 0.03%, to 2031.92.
For the year, the Dow has notched 22 records and the S&P has
ended at 38 closing highs. Stock-market gains in recent years have
been attributed to easy monetary policy from the Federal Reserve.
Fed officials are now debating when to lift short-term interest
rates, which have been near zero since December 2008. Many
investors said that October's jobs report did little to shift their
perception of when that interest-rate increase could come.
Stock-market gains in Europe and Asia also added to the positive
tone Monday.
Chinese shares posted their biggest daily percentage gain since
July after Chinese regulators said Shanghai's stock market would
open up to overseas investors on Nov. 17, through the launch of a
trading link between Hong Kong and Shanghai.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.3%. More than two million Catalans
voted in favor of independence from Spain on Sunday in a symbolic
exercise, which wasn't binding. In September, Scottish voters voted
against separating from the U.K.
In commodity markets, gold futures fell 0.1% to $1168.30 an
ounce.
No major economic data reports are scheduled for release Monday.
Later in the week, investors will get a reading on retail sales in
October and a preliminary gauge of consumer sentiment in
November.
Third-quarter earnings season is winding down. Earnings of note
this week include retailers such as Macy's Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores
Inc.
In corporate news, home builder Toll Brothers Inc. said
preliminary revenue in the quarter ended Oct. 31 rose 29% to $1.35
billion, topping expectations. Shares rose 2.4% in premarket
trading.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.289%
from 2.314% on Friday. Yields fall as prices rise.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com