NEW YORK - Stocks are rising as investors are reassured by reports that commercial lender CIT Group has a deal with key bondholders that will help it avoid bankruptcy.

Stocks are following world markets higher and extending big gains logged last week after reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal said CIT's board approved a deal with major bondholders to receive $3 billion in emergency funding.

Investors are also focused on the next wave of earnings reports from companies such as Boston Scientific and Texas Instruments.

A string of good earnings news sent market indicators up about 7 percent last week.

The Dow Jones industrials are up 52 to 8,796. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is up 4 to 945, and the Nasdaq composite index is up 6 to 1,893.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) - Stock futures rose Monday as investors were reassured by reports that commercial lender CIT Group has a deal with key bondholders that will help it avoid bankruptcy.

U.S. futures followed world markets higher after reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal said CIT's board approved a deal late Sunday with major bondholders to receive $3 billion in emergency funding. Both the Times and the Journal cited people familiar with the matter. CIT representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.

The money will give the troubled company time to restructure and pay down billions of dollars in debt due later this year.

CIT's future was cast in doubt after negotiations with federal regulators for bailout funds fell through. Its failure would have been a big blow to investor confidence and would have hurt industries like retailing, which has suppliers who reply on CIT for financing.

Investors are also focused on the next wave of earnings reports coming this week. On Monday, companies such as Boston Scientific Corp. and Texas Instruments Inc. are set to issue results.

A string of good earnings news sent market indicators up about 7 percent last week, giving the Dow Jones industrials and the Standard & Poor's 500 index their biggest weekly gains since early March, when the market's spring rally began.

The huge advance came after a monthlong slide in stocks that was driven by reports showing the economy was not healing as quickly as hoped. But solid earnings and outlooks from companies like Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Intel Corp. and International Business Machines Corp. gave investors hope that the recession is coming to an end.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 36, or 0.4 percent, to 8,733.