Stocks set to open higher after BofA results

[July 21, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street looked to open higher Monday after Bank of America Corp. posted results that beat expectations, raising hope the credit crisis might be easing for the nation's biggest retail banks.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank reported that higher investment banking and record revenue helped drive results during the second quarter. With BofA's results, four of the nation's five biggest banks have now reported better-than-expected earnings.

Investors also were optimistic that mergers and acquisitions, which have been sluggish since the credit crisis began last year, might be about to re-ignite. Swiss drug maker Roche Holding announced intentions to acquire the stake in Genentech Inc. it doesn't already won for $43.7 billion, making it the seventh-largest pharmaceuticals company in the U.S.

However, for the time being it appears that Yahoo Inc. has staved off an attempt by activist shareholder Carl Icahn to sell the company to Microsoft Corp. through a proxy fight. Icahn won't end up with control of the board, but he will become a director along with two of his nominees.

There are a number of key earnings reports expected during the day, including Apple Inc., drug makers Merck & Co. and Schering-Plough Corp., and chipmaker Texas Instruments Inc. Some 158 members of the Standard & Poor's 500 index and 10 members of the Dow Jones industrials are slated to post results this week.

Dow Jones industrial average futures added 24, or 0.28 percent, to 11,525.

S&P 500 index futures rose 4.00, or 0.32 percent, to 1,264.40. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 9.25, or 0.51 percent, to 1,838.00.

On Friday, Wall Street closed out an impressive week: The Dow rose 3.57 percent, the Nasdaq increased 1.95 percent, and the S&P rose 1.71 percent.

Bond prices were higher Monday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.07 percent from 4.09 percent from late Friday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Oil prices moved higher. Light, sweet crude rose $2.53 to $131.41 in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The price was driven higher on concerns the threat of new sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program may escalate tensions in the oil-rich Middle East.

No major economic reports were on tap for the session. However, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson sought to reassure the public Sunday that the banking system is sound, while also preparing people for more troubled times ahead. "I think it's going to be months that we're working our way through this period -- clearly months," he said.

In other corporate news, Toymaker Hasbro Inc. said second-quarter profit rose, helped by demand for "Star Wars"- and "Indiana Jones"-related toys and the benefit of a weaker dollar. Sales jumped 13 percent to $784.3 million.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.65 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.69 percent, Germany's DAX index added 1.11 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.89 percent.

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[Associated Press; By JOE BEL BRUNO]

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