U.S. stocks looked to open higher on Monday, extending Friday's broad rally, as oil prices fall below $50 a barrel on easing tensions in Nigeria. Shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. could face pressure after it said sales at stores open at least a year rose 2.3 percent for September, near the low end of expectations, according to its preliminary tally. S&P 500 futures were up 6.40 points, above fair value accounting for interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract, indicating the market would open higher. Dow Jones industrial index futures jumped 66 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 13 points. "We're building off of last week's momentum," said Arthur Hogan chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "Oil prices are lower so that's going to help. We also had good manufacturing data last week, which showed a pretty steady story as far as the manufacturing sector is concerned." On Friday, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 hit 3-month highs, while the Dow <.DJI closed up 112.38 points, or 1.11 percent, at 10,192.65.
Oil prices eased on Monday after rebels in Nigeria withdrew a threat to target oil operations, but lingering concerns over stretched supplies ahead of winter kept prices close to $50 a barrel. The reporting period for company earnings kicks into gear this week, giving investors a bit of hard data to chew on. Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. , traditionally the first in line at the beginning of the quarterly earnings season, reports on Thursday and industrial conglomerate General Electric Co. on Friday. XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. fell more than 5 percent in post-close trading on Friday, after the subscription satellite radio service said it added more than 415,000 new customers in the third quarter. Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday Inc. reports first-quarter results. On Sept. 9 it trimmed its first-quarter earnings outlook, saying consumer spending is being hurt by higher gas prices and interest rates. On the economic front, U.S. August factory orders are due at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Economists in a survey expect a median rise of 0.1 percent compared with a 1.3 percent rise the prior month.///www.reuters.com