Stock futures up as market awaits manufacturing data, earnings; CIT bankruptcy taken in stride

US stock futures rise ahead of manufacturing data

NEW YORK — U.S. stock futures are moderately higher Monday as investors await key reports on manufacturing and housing, seeking reassurance that the economic recovery will be sustainable.

A surprise profit from Ford Motor Co. helped support the early gains in futures. Ford said deep cost cuts and the government’s Cash for Clunkers rebates helped it earn nearly $1 billion in the third quarter. Shares rose nearly 9 percent in premarket trading.

Overnight, Asian stocks fell sharply following steep losses in U.S. markets on Friday that were driven by concerns over weak consumer spending. European stock markets, however, rose modestly after a report showed manufacturing activity in Europe increased for the first time in a year and a half.

Investors are hoping a similar report in the U.S. shows continued improvement in the industry. The market will also get reports on pending home sales and construction spending.

The market appeared to take in stride news that commercial lender CIT Group Inc. filed for bankruptcy protection on Sunday after a debt-exchange offer to bondholders failed. The filing, one of the biggest in U.S. corporate history, did not come as a surprise, as the lender has been struggling for months to restructure its debt.

CIT, which loans to thousands of small and mid-sized businesses, said its bondholders overwhelmingly opted for a prepackaged reorganization plan, which will speed up the process of restructuring its debt and could allow the lender to exit bankruptcy by the end of the year.

Stocks are coming off a volatile week, having posted their biggest losses in four months on Friday after rising sharply a day earlier on a stronger-than-expected reading on the economy. Friday’s losses helped send the Standard & Poor’s 500 index into the red for the month of October, breaking a seven-month streak of gains.

Ahead of the market’s open, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 40, or 0.4 percent, to 9,704. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures gained 5.20, or 0.5 percent, to 1,038.20, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 3.50, or 0.2 percent, to 1,669.00.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average dropped 2.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.6 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5 percent, Germany’s DAX index was flat, and France’s CAC-40 was up 0.5 percent.

As the market heads into the final months of the year, investors are trying to determine whether the bets they’ve been placing on a rebound in the economy over the past several months have been warranted. Even with the S&P 500’s 2 percent loss in October, the index is still up 53.2 percent from a 12-year low in March.

“The question is, is the trend changing?” said Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investments at PNC Wealth Management. “We’ve been in an up trend here.”

With about two-thirds of the companies that make up the Standard & Poor’s 500 index having reported earnings, and most posting profits that were better than expected, investors are turning their focus back to economic data.

This week, a flood of reports, including the government’s monthly employment report on Friday, will offer investors a glimpse at the fourth quarter and be pivotal in determining where the market heads during the remainder of the year. The Federal Reserve will also weigh in on the economy after the conclusion of a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.

The 3.5 percent growth in the U.S. economy in the third quarter was largely driven by government stimulus efforts. Investors are worried that once those measures expire, high unemployment and weak consumer spending will put a strain on the economy.

Among Monday’s economic reports, an index on manufacturing activity from the Institute for Supply Management is expected to read 53 in October, compared with 52.6 in September. A reading above 50 indicates growth. If economists are right, it would be the third straight month of growth after 18 months of contraction.

Also due Monday is the National Association of Realtors’ index of pending home resales for September. Analysts are expecting the index to remain unchanged from August, which was the best month for the index since March 2007.

A government report on construction spending is expected to show a slight decline in September following a rise in August.

After its earnings report, Ford shares rose 61 cents, or 8.7 percent, to $7.61 in premarket trading.

Bond prices fell in early trading. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.41 percent from 3.39 percent late Friday.

The dollar fell slightly against other major currencies, pushing commodities prices higher. Gold added $14 to $1,055 an ounce.

Oil prices rose 46 cents to $77.46 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.