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U.S. stock markets are poised for gains Monday, the first trading day of the New Year. Investors are emerging fresh from a year of economic hardships, but one that also produced big gains for some. Ahead of the opening bell, futures on the bellwether Dow Jones industrial stocks were higher by 60 points, while those in the S&P 500 rose 7 points and the tech-heavy Nasdaq was up nearly 22 points. The gains in part are a reaction to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments Sunday about the role low interest rates play in creating stock bubbles. Speaking at a conference in Atlanta, Bernanke said the housing bubble, which many have blamed on low interest rates in the early part of the last decade, would have been dealt with more effectively through regulation -- not interest-rate manipulation.
As trading gets underway in the New Year, investors can expect a bevy of new economic data, including November's construction spending report to be released at 10 a.m. EST Monday. Analyst estimates call for a 0.1% decline, according to Briefing.com. Auto makers will release December sales figures Tuesday, which industry experts believe will show a late surge in purchases as General Motors announced plans to unload unsold inventories of discontinued Pontiacs and Saturns at bargain-basement prices.
Also on Tuesday, watch for reports on November factory orders and existing home sales. On Friday, the Labor Department will report the latest data about the nation's job picture. Analyst predictions call for the jobless rate to tick up to 10.2% in December, according to Briefing.com, having fallen to 10% in the previous month.
In overseas action, most markets rose Monday in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei stock average gaining 1%, while the Shanghai composite picked up 0.5%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slipped slightly. In European trading, London's FTSE 100 was higher by about 0.7% in afternoon trading, with the German DAX ahead by nearly the same percentage. France's CAC 40 were doing slightly better, higher by about 1.1%.
Crude oil futures continued their climb Monday, with the price for February contracts rising nearly 2%, or $1.48, to just shy of $81 a barrel.
Individual stocks making news Monday include Swiss drug-giant Novartis (NVS), which has raised its stake in eye-care company Alcon (ACL). Novartis will acquire a 77% stake in Alcon by buying Nestlé's majority stake for $28.1 billion, and has set its sights on acquiring the rest.
Total (TOT) has struck a $2.25 billion deal with natural-gas company Chesapeake Energy (CHK) to enter the U.S. shale-gas market. The French energy concern will pay Chesapeake $800 million in cash and another $1.45 billion to fund 60% of the Oklahoma City, Okla., company's drilling costs.
Also, General Motors reported that sales in China rose 67% to a record 1.8 million vehicles as Chinese consumers responded enthusiastically to tax cuts and incentives designed to boost the industry. With slack demand for cars and trucks worldwide, Detroit-based GM and other car makers are eying China's growing market to drive up profits
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