(RTTNews) - Stocks are poised to extend last week’s gains Monday morning, as low interest rates, a recent upbeat earnings season and upside in the foreign markets have boosted buying interest. The major index futures are all in positive territory, with the Dow futures currently up by 85 points.

With no major economic data slated for release on the day, traders may look to earnings and corporate news to guide some of their moves.

Earlier in the day, Dish Network (DISH) reported third quarter net income of $81 million, compared with $92 million in the corresponding period in 2008. Total revenue was $2.892 billion, down 1.5 percent from $2.937 billion in the year-ago quarter.

In other corporate news, defense contractor Northrop Grumman (NOC) announced that it has agreed to sell its advisory services business TASC, Inc. to consortium led by General Atlantic LLC and affiliates of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. for $1.65 billion in cash.

Sprint Nextel Corp. (S), the third-largest wireless provider in the U.S., and its partners are planning to invest more in Clearwire Corp. (CLWR), and an announcement of the new investment could come as soon as this week, according to the Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, Sprint and its partners are likely to pump at least $1.5 billion more into Clearwire in order to help the wireless broadband services provider, which has struggled to expand its next-generation network.

Stocks saw only slim moves to close out the week on Friday, as subdued reaction to monthly employment figures kept the major averages near the unchanged mark. The Dow closed up 17 points at 10,023, the Nasdaq advanced 7 points to 2,112 and the S&P 500 rose 3 points to 1,069.

With the modest gains, the major averages closed higher for the week, partly offsetting the losses posted in the two previous sessions. The Dow and the S&P 500 both rose 3.2 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq a posted weekly gain of 3.3 percent.

Crude oil futures are up by $0.89 at $78.32 a barrel after falling by $2.19 to $77.43 on Friday. Gold futures are also advancing, up by $11.50 to $1,109.00 an ounce, after rising by $6.40 to close at $1,095.70 an ounce in the previous session.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is moving lower against the major European currencies, slipping to $1.498 versus the euro and falling to $1.6768 versus the pound. Meanwhile, the dollar is little changed against the Japanese yen, trading at 89.91 yen.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed higher on Monday. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.2 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 1.7 percent.

The major European markets are also moving notably higher, with the U.K.’s FTSE 100 up by 1.7 percent, while the French CAC 40 Index and the German DAX Index are up by 1.5 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Copyright(c) 2009 RTTNews.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Posted in Categories: Economy, Eurozone, Japan, Releases, USA.

Subscribe by RSS Subscribe by Email