Futures Point to Strong Open on Bank Support
Updated from 7:08 a.m. EDT
Premarket futures were suggesting a higher open for U.S. stocks Monday, as governments worldwide initiated massive emergency aid packages for struggling banks.
Futures for the
S&P 500
were up 42 points at 933 and were 31 points ahead of fair value.
Nasdaq
futures were higher by 53 points at 1335 and were 57 points better than fair value.
Central banks across the globe were initiating policies to offer liquidity to banks and bolster lending markets.
In the U.S., Interim Assistant Secretary for Financial Stability Neel Kashkari said in a statement that the Treasury Department had enlisted law firm Simpson Thatcher to advise it on a plan to buy equity positions as a measure in its $700 billion relief package for financial firms.
The U.K. announced a plan to inject capital into three of its struggling banks.
Royal Bank of Scotland
(RBS) - Get Report
,
Lloyds
(LYG) - Get Report
and
HBOS
will get up to $63 billion in government support, the
said.
Australia said it would guarantee all of its banks' deposits and international debt. The United Arab Emirates said it would guarantee its domestic bank deposits. France and Italy are expected to detail their own plans later Monday. Germany, meanwhile, was preparing to expand a bailout package for its banks to $680 billion.
According to a report by
Bloomberg
,
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson
was looking into a U.S. program to guarantee debt issued by domestic banks following the significant intervention by European governments.
The
Federal Reserve
said it would offer unlimited dollar funding to swap facilities with several European central banks to meet increasing demand.
In company news, mergers and equity investments were dominating the headlines. Japanese bank
Mitsubishi UFJ
(MTU)
closed a deal with
(MS) - Get Report
to buy a 21% stake in the U.S. bank holding company.
Meanwhile,
Banco Santander
(STD)
said it may acquire all of troubled U.S. thrift
(SOV)
.
Outside the financials,
General Motors
(GM) - Get Report
was in discussions with
Cerberus Capital Management
to buy
Chrysler's
automotive operations, according to published reports. Cerberus owns an 80% stake in
.
In analyst actions, Goldman Sachs predicted that the S&P 500 would climb 11% to reach 1000 at the end of the year. There's a high probability of a rally, Goldman said, but the rebound would not mark the beginning of a new bull market.
Among technology shares, Friedman Billings reduced price targets on a wide array of technology companies, including
Microsoft
(MSFT) - Get Report
,
McAfee
(MFE)
and
Adobe Systems
(ADBE) - Get Report
.
As for commodities, crude oil was up $4.39 at $82.09 a barrel, and gold was lower by $3 at $856.
The market for U.S. Treasury securities was closed. The dollar was falling substantially vs. the euro and pound but rising against the yen.
Europe's exchanges, such as the FTSE in London and the Dax in Frankfurt, were trading higher. In Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 10%. Japan's Nikkei was closed for a holiday.
