Wall Street looks to extend recent gains

[May 04, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street is looking to extend its recent gains ahead of readings on the housing and construction industries.

Stock futures pointed higher early Monday in anticipation of the National Association of Realtors' pending home sales index for March and the Commerce Department's report on construction spending for that month, both to be released at 10 a.m. Eastern time.

Investors will be looking to a number of key economic reports this week -- among them the closely watched employment report on Friday -- for further validation that the economy is beginning to heal.

In dealmaking, Italian automaker Fiat confirmed Sunday that it is in talks to buy most of General Motors Corp.'s European operations. The struggling car company has been trying to find buyers for its noncore, unprofitable businesses to help it prevent bankruptcy. Fiat is in the process of acquiring Chrysler LLC, which last week filed for bankruptcy reorganization, without putting up any cash.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 45, or 0.6 percent, to 8,226. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures added 4.90, or 0.6 percent, to 881.00, while Nasdaq 100 index futures gained 11.25, or 0.8 percent, to 1,409.75.

The market has been moving higher since early March, when investors got word from some of the nation's biggest banks that business was better than expected. Since March 9, the Dow Jones industrials are up 25.4 percent and the Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 29.7 percent.

As market sentiment improves, and economic reports continue to indicate that the economy's slide is slowing, investors keep buying. But there is still evidence of pain in the market: Last week, Chrysler LLC filed for bankruptcy, and many companies continue to report weaker-than-expected first-quarter results.

This week, investors will get more news on the troubled banking industry with the results of the government's stress tests of the 19 largest U.S. banks. Many investors anticipate that the tests -- designed to determine which banks would need more cash if the recession worsens -- will show that several banks need more capital.

Stocks gained about 1.5 percent last week despite concerns about a potential swine flu pandemic and Chrysler's bankruptcy filing.

Bond prices were mixed early Monday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was unchanged from late Friday at 3.16 percent. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, slipped to 0.13 percent from 0.14 percent late Friday.

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

Light, sweet crude fell 11 cents to $53.09 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.69 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 5.5 percent. In late morning trading, Germany's DAX rose 1.4 percent and France's CAC-40 gained 0.1. London markets are closed for a holiday.

[Associated Press; By SARA LEPRO]

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