Stock Futures Point to Modest Gains for U.S.

Stock index future were pointing to a higher open Monday as traders looked to pick up equities following a selloff in the prior session.

S&P 500 futures were up 3.50 points to 1392.50 and were 4 points above fair value. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 were ticking up 1.50 points at 1965 and were about a point ahead of fair value.

Last time out, the broad indices took a slide after insurance titan American International Group AIG reported another big loss and crude oil reached a new high again.

At the end of the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had lost 121 points to 12,746, and the S&P 500 gave up 9 points to 1388. The Nasdaq Composite slipped 6 points to 2446.

First Coverage, a market-analysis firm, noted that last week's bad news, capped off by the AIG report, pulled down overall sentiment as financials once again bore the brunt of traders' resurfacing anxiety.

Before the opening bell, MBIA MBI dropped 4.6% after the beleaguered mortgage insurer lost $2.41 billion in the first quarter. The loss came as MBIA took a $3.6 billion hit in unrealized losses on insured derivatives.

Also swinging to a first-quarter loss was mortgage lender IndyMac IMB. The firm, which lost $184.2 million, or $2.27 a share, warned that it won't achieve a profit until the plunge in housing prices eases up.

HSBC HBC was up 2.7% in the premarket, however, after saying first-quarter earnings climbed from last year, thanks to its success in emerging markets such as Asia. That came even as the Britain-based bank wrote down $2.6 billion in assets and doubled its loan-impairment charges.