Indications: U.S. stock futures higher with jobs, Fed in focus

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By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

MADRID (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock market futures were higher on Monday, with traders due to get the first opportunity to react to a largely an upbeat jobs report released last week, while a closed meeting of the Federal Reserve was also expected to draw attention.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 29 points to 10,889, while those for the S&P 500 rose 2.6 points to 1,176.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 rose 8.25 points to 1,960.75.

U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday. In the week through Thursday, all three benchmark indexes advanced for a fifth straight week of gains, with oil and other commodities rallying as economic reports from the U.S., Asia and Europe combined to lift hopes of a global recovery.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (INDU 10,927, +70.44, +0.65%) on Thursday touched an intraday high of 10,956.30, its highest level since late in September 2008, gaining 70.44 points, or 0.7% to end at 10,927.07. The S&P 500 /quotes/comstock/21z!i1:in\x (SPX 1,178, +8.67, +0.74%) rose 8.67 points, or 0.7%, to 1,178.10, while the Nasdaq Composite /quotes/comstock/10y!i:comp (COMP 2,403, +4.62, +0.19%) added 4.62 points, or 0.2%, to end at 2,402.58.

Data on Monday include the March ISM non-manufacturing index and pending-home sales, both due at 10 a.m. Eastern. These data come on the heels of Friday's key U.S. jobs report, which showed the biggest increase in jobs -- nonfarm payrolls up 162,000 in March -- in three years, adding to evidence the U.S. economy is on the mend.

While that headline number missed analyst estimates, it was all due to smaller-than-expected number of hires by the Commerce Department to conduct the census. Analysts focused on private-sector payrolls, which rose more than predicted.

Analysts at Action Economics said the data weren't strong enough to signal an "all-clear on the labor front, or to suggest a more rapid pace of expansion in the economy is at hand. Hence it remains highly unlikely that the Fed will alter its policy stance anytime soon in terms of interest rates."

The Fed will hold a closed-door meeting on Monday to review the discount rate, now at 0.75%. That rate is what Federal Reserve banks charge institutions seeking emergency funds. Markets will face plenty of Fed speak this week from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and others, while bond auctions totaling more than $200 billion will run Monday through Thursday.

On the corporate front, shares of Apple Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!aapl/quotes/nls/aapl (AAPL 235.97, 0.00, 0.00%) may be back in focus after the debut of its iPads this weekend, with some estimates that the company sold more than twice of its new tablet-style device as expected.

Shares of Arena Resources /quotes/comstock/13*!ard/quotes/nls/ard (ARD 34.26, 0.00, 0.00%) jumped more than 7% ahead of the opening bell as it agreed to be acquired by SandRidge Energy Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!sd/quotes/nls/sd (SD 7.85, 0.00, 0.00%) for about $1.6 billion in cash and stock as the company positions itself as one of the largest producers of conventional oil and gas in West Texas.

Shares of Tesoro Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!tso/quotes/nls/tso (TSO 14.39, 0.00, 0.00%) fell over 4% in pre open trade. Five people died and two were critically injured in a fire at the company's refinery in Anacortes, Wash., on Friday.

Shares of Melco Crown Entertainment /quotes/comstock/15*!mpel/quotes/nls/mpel (MPEL 4.66, 0.00, 0.00%) rose over 7%, after J.P. Morgan upgraded the company to overweight from neutral on Monday.

Stock markets in London and across Europe were closed for a holiday, while some markets in Asia, including Australia, Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, were still closed. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average of 225 companies closed at a new 18-month high for the third straight session as a weaker yen lifted shares of exporters.

Crude oil futures were up 54 cents to $85.41 a barrel, while gold futures were up $2.60 to $1,128.70 an ounce.

Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid.