US stock-index futures advanced on Monday as robust Chinese economic data and new global banking rules boosted investor optimism.
At 08:14 am ET, the S&P 500 futures rose 9.20 points to 1,114.10. The Dow Jones Industrial average futures climbed 87 points to 10,480. The Nasdaq Composite futures advanced 15.50 points to 1,905.25.
Shares of financials rallied in pre-market trading on Monday, a day after the regulators meeting in Basel, Switzerland agreed on new rules aimed at strengthening the existing capital requirements for banks. The new rules, known as Basel III, requires banks to hold at least 7% of their capital in reserve.
BP (NYSE:
BP) expects that compensation claims related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will be less than the $20 billion it put into an independent claims fund, Citigroup analysts said Monday, after meeting with incoming Chief Executive Bob Dudley.
HP (NYSE:
HPQ) on Monday announced that it has agreed to acquire ArcSight (NASDAQ: ARST) for $43.50 per share, or an enterprise value of $1.5 billion. The closing of the acquisition is expected to occur by the end of the calendar year.
Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:
HTZ) and Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:
DTG) on Tuesday jointly announced an agreement to amend their merger agreement to provide for Hertz to acquire Dollar Thrifty for an increased purchase price of $50.00 per share, valued at the Friday, September 10, 2010 closing price of Hertz stock of $10.05, consisting of $43.60 in cash (including approximately $6.87 per share to be paid by Dollar Thrifty as a special cash dividend immediately prior to the transaction closing) and 0.6366 of a share of Hertz common stock.
Genzyme Corporation (NASDAQ:
GENZ) on Monday announced that it has agreed to sell its genetic testing unit to Laboratory Corporation of America Holding for $925 million in cash.
US stocks finished higher on Friday in thin trading as investors cheered a rally in crude oil prices. Shares also gained as upbeat economic data added to the positive tone.
The Treasury Department is scheduled to release federal budget for August in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, in China, a statistics bureau report showed that industrial output jumped 13.9 percent from a year earlier.
European stocks advanced in afternoon trade. At 12:38 pm London time, the UK FTSE gained 63.17 points, or 1.15%, to 5,564.81. The German DAX and French CAC increased 0.89% and 1.10% respectively.
Asian stocks finished higher. The Nikkei 225 rose 82.65 points, or 0.89%, to 9,321.82. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong advanced 400.96 points, or 1.89%, to close at 21,658.35.
NYMEX crude oil for October climbed as much as $1.05, or 1.4%, to $77.50 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author doesn't own any of the stocks discussed here.