US stock futures point to higher open ahead of updates on the labor and retail sectors

Stock futures point to higher Wall Street open

Stock futures pointed to a sharply higher open on Wall Street Monday after a weekend meeting of world financial leaders raised hopes for the global economy.

U.S. stock index futures followed the lead of overseas markets, which rose after officials from the Group of 20 countries agreed to keep their economic stimulus measures in place.

Investors are awaiting retailers’ earnings reports for a sense of how much consumers are spending, especially as the holiday season approaches. The market is concerned that rising unemployment, which now sits at 10.2 percent, will further discourage already hesitant consumers from spending.

Still, the Labor Department’s jobless report Friday hasn’t deterred investors, who were buying stocks on the theory that the weak labor market will prompt the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates low for some time.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 82, or 0.8 percent, to 10,060. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures rose 9.70, or 0.9 percent, to 1,075.90, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 15.50, or 0.9 percent, to 1,745.25.

In corporate news, Britain’s Cadbury Plc rejected a $16.4 billion hostile takeover bid from Kraft Foods Inc.

McDonald’s, the world’s largest fast-food chain, said monthly sales growth was relatively flat in the U.S. but offset by stronger growth globally.

Stock futures also got a lift as the House approved the health care reform bill.

Meanwhile, oil prices hovered around $78 a barrel as Hurricane Ida threatened the Gulf of Mexico. A barrel of crude traded at $78.30, up 87 cents, in pre-opening trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.52 percent from 3.50 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.06 percent from 0.04 percent late Friday.

The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan’s Nikkei stock average rose 0.2 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 1.7 percent, Germany’s DAX index was up 1.6 percent, and France’s CAC-40 was up 1.4 percent.