(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures rose on Tuesday as hopes for a revival in M&A activity boosted investor sentiment.
At 8:11 am ET, the S&P 500 futures climbed 10.20 points to 1024.10. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 83 points to 9500. The Nasdaq Composite futures advanced 14.25 points to 1650.
Kraft Foods (NYSE:
KFT), the second-largest food company said it will pursue a takeover of Cadbury Plc after the British maker of Trident gum and Dairy Milk chocolate rejected a 10.2 billion-pound ($16.7 billion) bid saying that the offer"fundamentally undervalues" the Group and its prospects.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 called for tougher capital adequacy standards for banks and pledged to continue fiscal and monetary stimulus while rejecting a Franco-German proposal to cap banker pay.
Early on Tuesday, Smithfield Foods Inc. (NYSE:
SFD) said that its fiscal first quarter loss widened to $108 million, or 75 cents a share, from 10 cents a share. Revenue dropped to $2.7 billion from $3.1 billion.
Contract oil driller Ensco International Inc. (NYSE:
ESV) announced Friday that due to unexpected downtime and repairs on two drilling rigs its third-quarter earnings will be reduced by about 14 cents to 18 cents per share.
On the economic front, consumer credit data is due for release at 15:00 pm ET.
The dollar fell against major currencies, helping gold push above $1,000 an ounce.
Elsewhere in Germany, the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology reported that industrial output fell 0.9% in July from the previous month.
US stocks finished with gains on Friday after a government release showed that employers cut fewer workers in August.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 12:52 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 1.40 points or 0.59% to 4,960.08. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.55% and 0.53% respectively.
Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 72.29 points or 0.70% to 10,393.23. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 440.50 points or 2.14% to 21,069.81.
NYMEX crude oil for October delivery climbed as much as $1.72 or 2.5% to $69.74 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
