Stock futures rise after last week's sell-off

[June 09, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street headed for a higher open Monday as investors looked to recover from a huge sell-off triggered by soaring oil prices.

The price of oil backed down slightly in premarket trading, with light sweet crude down $1.76 at $136.78 a barrel. Stock investors were unnerved Friday when oil rocketed up $11 a barrel above $138, and that caused the worst tumble on Wall Street in 15 months.

The reasons behind oil's record-breaking run are similar to those affecting the market -- but its effect on the economy is not. If consumers face higher energy costs, they will pare back their discretionary spending more than they already have.

Futures came off their morning highs after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. said it will raise $6 billion in new capital to shore up its balance sheet after posting an unexpectedly large second-quarter loss of nearly $3 billion.

Dow Jones industrial average futures added 24, or 0.29 percent, to 12,238. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.40, or 0.10 percent, to 1,360.90, and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 2.25, or 0.11 percent, to 1,991.00.

Last week, the Dow gave up 3.39 percent. The S&P 500 index closed down 2.83 percent, and the Nasdaq composite index ended 1.91 percent lower.

There is little in the way of economic news expected during the session. The National Association of Realtors releases data on pending sales of existing homes at 10 a.m. EDT. Economists predict the April index will hold steady compared with last month at 83.0.

In corporate news, Lehman Brothers said it expects to lose $2.8 billion, or $5.14 per share, for the period ended May 31. This marks the first loss for Lehman Brothers since it spun off from American Express Co. in 1994, and becomes the latest financial institution to show continued pain from the global credit crisis.

Bond prices edged lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.93 percent from 3.91 percent late Friday.

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

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 2.13 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.17 percent in midday trading, Germany's DAX index fell 0.02 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.02 percent.

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On the Net:

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/

Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/

[Associated Press; By JOE BEL BRUNO]

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