By Steve Goldstein, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures pointed to a solid open Monday as investors look ahead to a week of rate decisions, earnings and key economic reports, including an important gauge of the manufacturing sector.
S&P 500 futures rose 5.9 points to 1,038.90 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 4.25 points to 1,669.70. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 51 points.
On Friday, U.S. stocks stumbled on concerns over consumer spending, the fate of CIT Group and the durability of a rally that's still 55% above the lows from March. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 249 points, the Nasdaq Composite lost 52 points and the S&P 500 dropped 29 points. The S&P 500 dropped 4% on the week, and the October drop of around 2% broke seven months in a row of gains.
"The equity rally started to feel its age in the past two weeks and indices have fallen back on a combination of slightly disappointing economic and earnings data," said David Shairp, of J.P. Morgan Asset Management. "The coming weeks will thus be important to see if this pullback is more than just month-end exhaustion."
CIT Group (CIT 0.72, -0.23, -24.21%) on Sunday filed for bankruptcy protection, though it will still be able to provide funding to its small-business and middle-market customers.
CIT's bankruptcy will likely mean that the Treasury Department loses the $2.3 billion it invested in the company -- the biggest loss from TARP so far.
Coming shortly after the market open will be the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing index for October, which is expected to rise to 53.0%.
That release comes ahead of a Fed interest-rate decision and key labor market data later in the week.
Data on pending home sales and construction spending for September also will be released.
The earnings calendar features results from Ford Motor Co. (F 7.00, -0.30, -4.11%) and Loews (L 33.10, -1.27, -3.70%) among others.
Boeing (BA 47.80, -1.01, -2.07%) will be in the spotlight as Irish carrier Ryanair Holdings (RYAA.Y 27.27, -0.20, -0.73%) threatened to end its relationship with the plane maker over a lack of progress on the sale of 200 aircraft.
Overseas, most Asia markets ended lower, with the Nikkei 225 sliding 2.3%, though the Shanghai Composite climbed 2.7% after a manufacturing gauge showed expansion for the seventh month in a row.
In Europe, major indexes were mixed, with the Stoxx 600 retreating but the national gauges of the U.K., France and Germany in positive territory.
Oil futures were up around $1 a barrel and gold futures climbed $13 an ounce.
