Futures higher as oil hits $70

[May 07, 2018]   By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were higher on Monday, with rising oil prices expected to keep Wall Street on track to extend Friday's rally.

U.S. crude <CLc1> climbed above $70 per barrel for the first time since November 2014, boosted by Venezuela's deepening economic crisis and a looming decision on whether the United States will re-impose sanctions on Iran. [O/R]

Shares of Exxon <XOM.N> rose 1.4 percent in premarket trading, while Chevron <CVX.N> was up 0.6 percent.

Another gainer was Starbucks <SBUX.O>, which rose 3.2 percent, after Swiss food giant Nestle <NESN.S> said it would pay the world's biggest coffee chain $7.15 billion for the rights to sell its products around the world.

At 7:15 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis <1YMc1> were up 87 points, or 0.36 percent. S&P 500 e-minis <ESc1> were up 10.5 points, or 0.39 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis <NQc1> were up 43 points, or 0.63 percent.

Trader Michael Capolino shouts out a bid on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

Major U.S. stock indexes ended up more than 1 percent on Friday after weaker-than-expected U.S. wage growth calmed investor fears about rising interest rates and inflation.

U.S. corporates have performed strongly in the first quarter, with nearly 80 per cent of the 400 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far topping profit estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

That is well above the long-term average of 64 percent and the average of 75 percent over the past four quarters.

Keeping geopolitics in focus this week, President Donald Trump is set to decide by May 12 whether to pull out of the Iran deal.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru)

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