Futures Indicate Higher Open in U.S.

Wrigley is one of the early winners, rising more than 20%.
By Sarina Penn ,

Stock index futures were indicating a higher start for Wall Street Monday as investors were greeted with merger news and positive earnings reports.

Futures on the

S&P 500

were up 7 points to 1404 and were nearly 5 points over fair value. On the Nasdaq 100, futures rose 9 points at 1930 and were more than 5 points above fair value.

One of the early drivers was

Wrigley

(WWY)

, which shot up 23.6% after

The Wall Street Journal

reported that Mars and

Berkshire Hathaway

(BRK.A) - Get Report

are nearing an agreement to take out the chewing-gum outfit for more than $22 billion. The paper said the deal could be announced as early as today.

Also, United Airlines parent

UAL Corp.

(UAUA)

said it would abandon talks with

Continental

(CAL) - Get Report

but also indicated that it will explore other merger options. Continental said this weekend it would remain independent.

Elsewhere, Dow component

Verizon

(VZ) - Get Report

posted in-line first-quarter earnings. Separately, health insurer

Humana

(HUM) - Get Report

padded its full-year earnings guidance as first-quarter income jumped 12.5% and topped the average Wall Street consensus.

Last time out, averages ended the day mixed amid spiking oil prices and inconsistent earnings reports, after spending most of the day lower. All told, the

Dow Jones Industrial Average

rose 43 points to 12,893, and the S&P 500 added 9 points to 1399. The

Nasdaq Composite

gave up 6 points to 2423.

As the new day began, traders were dealing with another new high for crude oil, which reached $119.93 a barrel before pulling back to a 42-cent gain at $118.94. Gold was adding $3.70 to $893.40 an ounce.

Meanwhile, the U.S. dollar was slipping 0.5% against the euro at $1.5666 and fell marginally against the yen.

Treasury prices were losing ground. The 10-year note was off 3/32 in price to yield 3.88%, and the 30-year bond fell 16/32 in price, yielding 4.63%.

Markets overseas were rising. The Nikkei 225 in Japan added 0.2% overnight, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong climbed 0.6%. As for European bourses, London's FTSE 100 tacked on 0.5%, and Germany's Xetra Dax jumped 0.9%. The Paris Cac was up 0.8%.

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