Stock futures held solid gains ahead of Monday's open, benefitting from a quiet economic calendar and positive trading overseas.
Dow futures were steady, up 54 points. S&P 500 futures were up six points and Nasdaq 100 futures held an 17.25 point gain.
The stock market today launches a critical week in the test of the two-and-a-half month uptrend. The Nasdaq logged its second weekly decline last week. The S&P 500 notched its first weekly loss since December. The NYSE Composite is hauling six distribution days, signaling heavy selling by institutions.
Leading stocks were generally quiet early Monday, with the clear exception of Hertz Global (HTZ), which was up 6% ahead of the open. The car rental and leasing leader reported fourth quarter EPS up 38%, vs. consensus views for a 29% gain. 15% revenue growth also easily cleared expectations. Management lifted its 2013 sales and earnings guidance well past analyst forecasts.
The stock ended Friday 23% past a 15.27 buy point after clearing a double-bottom base in November.
Overseas, Frankfurt's DAX was up 2.4%, given a boost by news reports that exchange operator CME Group (CME) had made merger overtures to the Deutsche Bourse Group, owner of the Frankfurt exchange. A year ago, the European Commission blocked a merger between NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Bourse on monopoly concerns.
The CAC-40 in Paris climbed 1.6% and London's FTSE 100 gained 1.4%.
China's major indexes ended with slight gains Monday. In Japan, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 leapt 2.4% as the yen skidded lower vs. the dollar and the euro after a report from Reuters that Haruhiko Kuroda, a proponent of monetary easing policies, was likely to head the central Bank of Japan.
The euro rose vs. the dollar. Commodities traded higher, with oil ticking above $94 a barrel and gold above $1,591 an ounce, each up more than 1%.
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