Investing.com – U.S. stock futures pointed to a broadly higher open on Monday, after AT&T acquired T-Mobile in the largest acquisition in the wireless industry since 2004 and as fears over Japan’s nuclear crisis eased.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 1%, the S&P 500 futures pointed to an increase of 1.15%, while Nasdaq 100 futures implied a gain of 1.2%.
Earlier in the day, Japanese authorities said they were making progress in cooling damaged reactors at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Earlier Monday, shares in AT&T climbed 5.9% after it agreed to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for USD39 billion. The deal would make AT&T the largest U.S. mobile-phone company.
However, shares in rival Sprint plunged 12.9% in pre-market trade, amid unconfirmed reports the company was working on a merger with T-Mobile before it was sold to AT&T.
General Electric saw shares add 2.1% after Bloomberg News reported that the company had expressed an interest in acquiring the online banking unit of Dutch financial service provider ING Groep.
Financial service provider Charles Schwab saw shares add 0.8% ahead of the open, after it agreed to acquire retail broker optionsXpress Holdings for USD1 billion. Shares in optionsXpress soared 14.4% following the news.
In earnings news, luxury-goods retailer Tiffany & Co. surged 5.8% in pre-market trade after reporting a 29% jump in fourth quarter net income. Revenue in the quarter rose 12% to USD1.1 billion, driven by “strong global holiday sales”.
The company warned, however that fiscal first quarter results could be weighed by earthquake disruptions at its stores in Japan.
Also Monday, oil producers could be on the move after crude oil prices spiked past USD104 a barrel after coalition forces launched a second wave of air strikes on Libya earlier in the day.
Other stocks in focus included Berkshire Hathaway, after chief executive Warren Buffet said that he was seeking further acquisitions, and Citigroup, which announced that it planned to reintroduce a dividend beginning in the second quarter of 2011.
In Europe, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 2%, France’s CAC 40 gained 1.95%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.9%, while the FTSE 100 rose 1.3% as shares in the telecom sector led markets higher.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 1.7% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index remained closed due to a public holiday.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a report on existing home sales.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures indicated a gain of 1%, the S&P 500 futures pointed to an increase of 1.15%, while Nasdaq 100 futures implied a gain of 1.2%.
Earlier in the day, Japanese authorities said they were making progress in cooling damaged reactors at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
Earlier Monday, shares in AT&T climbed 5.9% after it agreed to acquire T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for USD39 billion. The deal would make AT&T the largest U.S. mobile-phone company.
However, shares in rival Sprint plunged 12.9% in pre-market trade, amid unconfirmed reports the company was working on a merger with T-Mobile before it was sold to AT&T.
General Electric saw shares add 2.1% after Bloomberg News reported that the company had expressed an interest in acquiring the online banking unit of Dutch financial service provider ING Groep.
Financial service provider Charles Schwab saw shares add 0.8% ahead of the open, after it agreed to acquire retail broker optionsXpress Holdings for USD1 billion. Shares in optionsXpress soared 14.4% following the news.
In earnings news, luxury-goods retailer Tiffany & Co. surged 5.8% in pre-market trade after reporting a 29% jump in fourth quarter net income. Revenue in the quarter rose 12% to USD1.1 billion, driven by “strong global holiday sales”.
The company warned, however that fiscal first quarter results could be weighed by earthquake disruptions at its stores in Japan.
Also Monday, oil producers could be on the move after crude oil prices spiked past USD104 a barrel after coalition forces launched a second wave of air strikes on Libya earlier in the day.
Other stocks in focus included Berkshire Hathaway, after chief executive Warren Buffet said that he was seeking further acquisitions, and Citigroup, which announced that it planned to reintroduce a dividend beginning in the second quarter of 2011.
In Europe, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 2%, France’s CAC 40 gained 1.95%, Germany's DAX climbed 1.9%, while the FTSE 100 rose 1.3% as shares in the telecom sector led markets higher.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index ended 1.7% higher, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index remained closed due to a public holiday.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish a report on existing home sales.