(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures advanced on Monday as shares of financials rallied ahead of opening bell after a Goldman Sachs upgrade.
At 8:18 am ET, the S&P 500 futures rose 5.20 points to 1026.90. The Dow Jones Industrial average futures increased 41 points to 9476. The Nasdaq Composite futures gained 10.25 points to 1672.50.
Shares of financials rallied in pre-market trading on Monday after Goldman Sachs upgraded large U.S. banks from "Neutral" to "Attractive," citing the dramatic improvement in earning power at the large banks versus the regionals. "We believe this difference in earnings power has not been fully reflected in share prices," the report added. As part of the call, Goldman upgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE:
WFC) to Buy, added Capital One (NYSE:
COF) to their Conviction Buy List, and reiterated their Conviction Buy List ratings on JPMorgan (NYSE:
JPM) and Bank of America (NYSE:
BAC). Goldman said tangible assets per share have jumped 29% for large banks compared to a 25% decline for regionals. Pre-provision earnings per asset has increased 7% compared to a drop of 14% for regionals.
Financial services provider Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE:
GS) will stand to receive $1 billion payment, while the U.S. taxpayers stands to lose $2.3 billion, if troubled commercial lender CIT Group, Inc. (NYSE:
CIT) files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
Specialty truck manufacturer Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE:
OSK) on Monday announced that it has received a $33 million contract from the U.S. Army to supply rear-mounted camera systems for all-terrain vehicles.
Shares of Brocade Communications Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:
BRCD) soared in premarket trade Monday after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company has put itself up for sale. The newspaper reported that Oracle Corp (NASDAQ:
ORCL) and Hewlett-Packard Co (NYSE:
HPQ) are being seen as potential bidders for Brocade company.
On the economic front, ISM services index data is due for release at 10:00 am ET.
US stocks extended losses on Friday after a bigger-than-expected decline in payrolls in September rekindled worries over an economic recovery.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 12:48 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 2.90 points or 0.06% to 4,991.60. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.20% and 0.21% respectively.
Asian stocks finished mixed. The Nikkei 225 rose 57.38 points or 0.59% to 9,674.49. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 53.58 or 0.26% to 20,429.07.
NYMEX crude oil for November delivery declined as much as 82 cents or 1.2%, to $69.13 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.
