More of the same

[notiCIas]

More of the same

Futures indicate flat open following strong gains fueled by oil price retreat last week.

September 12, 2005: 6:10 AM EDT

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks were looking for direction early Monday, following a week that saw a sharp drop in oil prices lift U.S. equities.

U.S. stock futures were little changed in early trading, indicating essentially a flat opening for stocks, as oil prices were also little changed.

The October light crude futures contract for NYMEX slipped 7 cents to $64.01 a barrel in electronic trading, while the October contract for Brent crude fell 2 cents to $62.82.


Major markets in Asia closed higher Monday, after a landslide win for Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Sunday's national election set the course for further sales of government assets there. Major European markets also were higher in early trading.

Treasury prices were lower, lifting the yield on the 10-year note to 4.13 percent from the 4.12 percent level late Friday. The dollar gained ground against the euro and the yen.

In corporate news, the Wall Street Journal reported that Delta Air Lines (Research), the nation's No. 3 airline, is set to file for bankruptcy court protections as early as this week as it seeks to arrange for financing to fund operations during reorganization.

No. 4 carrier Northwest Airlines (Research) is apparently set to start permanently hire replacement workers Tuesday after talks with its mechanics union broke down over the weekend. A bankruptcy filing at Northwest is also expected by next month unless it wins concessions from its other unions.