Wall Street is set to kick off a new month on an up note on Monday as optimism over corporate profits and the global economy pushed European shares toward 19-month highs and Japanese shares to a 20-month high. The rise in overseas markets perked up investor sentiment after the Nasdaq closed out its sixth straight week of losses on Friday and the Dow slipped for the second consecutive week. Concerns have emerged on Wall Street that shares may be overpriced after their surge last year. Investors face a busy week for economic news. The market will get an updated look at the U.S. labor market on Friday with the release of February's employment report. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said late last Friday that U.S. job growth was "very sluggish." Equity futures pointed to a higher open ahead of Monday's economic reports. Futures for the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 3.90 points to 1,148.60, futures for the Nasdaq 100 climbed 4 points to 1,475.50 and futures for the Dow Jones industrials jumped 42 points to 10,624.
"The market has been in a consolidation phase in the past couple of weeks, and ahead of the data this week this is just a little bit of a bounce," said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.. The Commerce Department will release January personal income and consumption data at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). Economists expect a median increase of 0.5 percent in income and a 0.4 percent increase in spending. The Institute for Supply Management's February manufacturing index, set for 10 a.m. (1500 GMT), is expected to show U.S. factory activity slowed a bit in February, due to a lack of new orders and weak conditions in the job market. Economists forecast the index fell to 62.0 from 63.6 in January. "The focus will be on the employment component of this number, especially ahead of Friday's payroll data, which is be the most important number of the week," Boockvar said. The Commerce Department releases January construction spending data at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). Economists forecast a median rise of 0.2 percent compared with a 0.4 percent increase during the prior month. Chip makers could be a weak spot in the market. JP Morgan before the open on Monday cut its rating on Intel Corp. because of indications sales of laptop computers were slowing. It also lowered its rating on Advanced Micro Devices because of price pressures, according to a market source. It cut Intel to "neutral" from "overweight" and it cut Advanced Micro to "underweight" from "neutral". Shares of Intel closed at $29.20, while shares of Advanced Micro Devices ended at $15.
In other corporate news, Sprint Corp. said on Sunday it would combine its wireless and wireline tracking shares and return to a single stock in April, making it easier for the No. 4 U.S. long-distance telephone company to buy a rival while protecting its wireless unit from unwanted takeover bids. Shares of PCS Group, which tracks its wireless telephone arm, ended at $9 on Friday, while shares of FON Group, which tracks its core long-distance and local telephone operations, closed at $17.73. European shares rose toward 19-month highs after HSBC reported record profits for a British bank, and economic optimism propelled Japanese shares to a 20-month high. Worries over U.S. gasoline stocks pushed Brent crude oil futures to a post-Iraq war high. On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> closed up 3.78 points, or 0.04 percent, at 10,583.92. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> rose 0.03 point to 1,144.94. The technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> fell 2.75 points, or 0.14 percent, to 2,029.82.//