Futures Rise Despite Higher Oil Prices

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures pointed to a higher open Monday as investors sought safe havens amid rising oil prices.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up by 16 points at 12,154. Futures for the S&P 500 were higher by 1 point, or 1 point above fair value, at 1322, and Nasdaq futures were higher by 7 points, or 7 points above fair value.

The major U.S. indices finished nearly 1% lower Friday despite strong job growth in February as concerns about political uprisings in Libya and the Middle East drove oil to settle above $104 a barrel.

Oil prices continued to climb Monday as investors remained concerned that violent clashes in Libya and the possibility of intensified uprisings in the Middle East would cause serious disruptions in oil supplies. The April crude contract was trading $2.36 higher at $106.78.

The high level of uncertainty increased the appeal of precious metals. The April gold contract was gaining $8.90 to trade at $1,437.50 an ounce and the May silver contract was trading $1.05 higher at $36.38 after hitting a 31-year high of $36.74.

Adding to global worries, Moody's Investor Services downgraded Greece's debt rating deeper into junk status on concerns that it will have to restructure its heavy debt load.

Over the weekend, China detailed its long-term economic plan, which focuses on taming inflation and boosting income levels to keep pace with economic growth in hopes of narrowing the wealth gap.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 0.4% and Japan's Nikkei lost 1.8%. London's FTSE was adding 0.5% and the DAX in Frankfurt was ahead by 0.4%.

Shares of Ciena(CIEN) were down by 4.4% at $27.55 in early trading after the communications networking equipment provider's weak outlook overshadowed better-than-expected first-quarter results.

French luxury goods company LVMHplans to buy a controlling stake in Italian luxury jewelry and watch company Bulgari in a cash-and-stock deal valued at €4.3 billion ($6.03 billion).

Hard drive company Western Digital(WDC) agreed to buy Hitachi Global Storage Technologies in a cash-and-stock deal worth $4.3 billion. Western Digital's stock was gaining 11.6% to $33.50 ahead of Monday's opening bell.

Monday will be light on data with the first report not scheduled for release until 3 p.m. ET when the Federal Reserve will issue its consumer credit report for January.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury fell 8/32, lifting the yield to 3.522%. The dollar weakened against a basket of currencies with the dollar index down by 0.1%.

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--Written by Melinda Peer in New York.

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