US stock futures jump as oil prices tumble

[September 02, 2008]  NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks headed for a sharply higher open Tuesday as oil fell by more than $7 a barrel after it appeared that the Gulf Coast and its oil facilities were spared heavy damage from Hurricane Gustav.

Beyond a broad pullback in commodities, investors also awaited a report from a trade group of purchasing executives on the manufacturing sector. The Institute for Supply Management is expected to report that the manufacturing sector saw virtually flat activity in August compared to July, according to the median estimate of economists polled by Thomson Financial/IFR. The report is due at 10 a.m. EDT.

Investors focused on the drop in oil, however, as fears that Gustav would leave a wide swath of heavy damage across the Gulf began to subside. Light, sweet crude fell $7.22 to 108.24 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 103, or 0.89 percent, to 11,644. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 10.70, or 0.83 percent, to 1,293.30 and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 21.00, or 1.12 percent, to 1,896.00.

The jump in stock futures follows a decline of 171 points in the Dow on Friday.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.86 percent from 3.82 percent late Friday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

In corporate news, technology shares advanced after Google Inc. said it is releasing its own Internet browser to counter Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer. Google shares rose 2 percent in premarket trading.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock fell 1.75 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.40 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 1.37 percent, and France's CAC-40 advanced 1.14 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 TIM PARADIS]

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