Forexpros – U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Tuesday, as investor confidence remained supported by news of a bailout for Spain, but gains were seen limited as uncertainty over the handling of the country’s debt crisis persisted.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.56%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.50% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.54% gain.
Investors were cautious as questions remained over the source of Spain’s rescue funds and whether the bailout repayments would add to the country’s already high borrowing costs.
The yield on Spanish 10-year bonds climbed to 6.65% earlier, hovering close to the critical 7% threshold, which is seen as unsustainable in the long term.
Investors also remained jittery ahead of Sunday’s general election in Greece, which could decide the course of the country’s future in the euro zone.
Financial stocks were expected to be active, as shares in Goldman Sachs edged down 0.06% in after hour trade after the U.S. lender said it rehired veteran banker Mark Schwartz in the role of chairman of its Asia Pacific unit, based in Beijing, becoming the first global investment bank to place its sole regional chairman in China’s capital.
Meanwhile, JP Morgan rose 0.46% in early trading after reportedly hiring an ex-Goldman Sachs energy trader to expand its customer flow business in Asia amid tightening regulation over proprietary trading.
Earlier in the day, the Wall Street Journal reported that a number of JP Morgan executives and directors had been aware of risky practices by a team of London-based traders two years before botched bets cost the bank over USD2 billion.
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. was also likely to be in focus, as the holding company offered to buy Residential Capital LLC’s mortgage unit, according to court papers filed Monday.
In addition, NetJets, a private jet-sharing company owned by Berkshire Hathaway, said it would buy up to 425 new business jets from Bombardier Inc. and Cessna in a deal worth USD9.6 billion to expand its North American and European fleet.
Elsewhere in company news, BlackRock Inc. said it received several proposals to buy or help restructure its Australian unlisted property trust which has assets of USD464.75 million but is short of funds to meet redemption demands.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 surged 1.99%, France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.65%, Germany’s DAX advanced 0.61%, while Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.41%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index shed 0.65%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slumped 1%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on import prices as well as a government report on federal budget balance.
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