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 Economists from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase speculated the central bank might act to cut rates before its March 18 meeting. The market is also hopeful the Fed would create new measures to boost the ailing economy, such as increase the amount of money it directly lends to banks and other financial institutions.
More aggressive Fed action would be welcomed by Wall Street after a grim jobs report and more news about the fallout from the credit crisis sent the Dow Jones industrial average down 515 points over a three-day period. Inflation is another concern; on Monday, stocks sank as oil surged above $108 a barrel.
Oil prices passed $109 in premarket trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Speculation that rising prices for oil and other commodities will offset the falling dollar has driven oil's rally from $87 a barrel in January.
Any move higher on Wall Street Tuesday would come with a cautious tone. Many investors are taking positions ahead of big economic reports later in the week, including Thursday's report on retail sales and Friday's data on consumer prices.
Tuesday's economic calendar focuses on a trade report from the Commerce Department, which will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists expect the report to indicate the trade balance worsened slightly in January, moving to a deficit of $69.75 billion from $58.8 billion in December.
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 Dow futures rose 80, or 0.67 percent, to 11,859. The index is down more than 2,400 points from its October, 2007 record high.
Standard & Poor's 500 futures were up 9.10, or 0.71 percent, at 1,284.70, while the Nasdaq 100 futures added 6.75, or 0.40 percent, to 1,684.00.
In corporate news, WellPoint Inc. is expected to tumble after Goldman Sachs trimmed its ratings in the managed care sector to neutral from attractive. The investment bank singled out WellPoint's performance amid pricing pressures.
Texas Instruments Inc., which makes chips used in about half the world's cell phones, lowered its profit projections late Monday due to a key customer's decision to cut orders. The company did not identify the customer other than to say it is a maker of wireless phones.
Stocks overseas rebounded in overnight trading. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 1.01 percent, while Hong Kong's market closed up 1.28 percent higher. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE-100 rose 1.3 percent, Germany was up 0.41 percent, and France added 0.57 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]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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