Dados EUA para hoje: Stocks hope to earn gains

[notiCIas]

U.S. markets set to open higher as investors await first of the June quarter results.
July 10 2006: 6:15 AM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised for a higher start Monday as investors await the first of the June-quarter corporate reports that will show just how strong the economy is.

At 6:12 a.m. ET, S&P and Nasdaq futures pointed to a higher start for the major indexes.

While the results schedule for the week is relatively light, it does include two Dow Jones industrial average components: Alcoa (Charts), after Monday's close, and General Electric (Charts), before Thursday's open.

Lower oil could also help the markets early Monday. U.S. light crude was down 39 cents to $73.70 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent crude was 37 cents lower in London trading at $73.14.

Oil was trading lower after a report in the Wall Street Journal that Saudi Arabia is testing a technique that could unlock its hard-to-tap reservoirs of heavy crude.

The paper reports that the effort could add significantly to Saudi oil reserves and give tight energy markets some of the slack that has been missing for more than a year, helping to keep prices high.

Treasury prices were slightly lower, with the yield on the 10-year note up to 5.14 percent from 5.13 percent late Friday.

Stocks in Asia closed mostly higher after a report on Japanese machinery orders, a key gauge of corporate capital spending, came in better than expected. But major indexes in Europe were lower in early trading.

Among stocks to watch is Walt Disney (Charts) after a record-setting $132 million weekend for "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest."

Published reports say Kraft Foods (Charts) has agreed to buy United Biscuits of the United Kingdom, in a deal that could be announced as soon as Monday. Kraft already owns 25 percent of the British company, which makes Kraft products such as Ritz crackers and Oreo cookies under license in Europe.

The two economic reports due Monday are readings on wholesale inventories and consumer credit.

The 10 a.m. ET wholesale inventory report is forecast to show a 0.5 percent increase in May, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com, slower than the 0.9 percent rise reported in April.