Futures Climb, Fueled by M&A Deal Hopes
U.S. stock index futures rose Tuesday, after the S&P 500 posted its seventh-straight week higher, lifted by optimism for more corporate deals as investors returned from the long Presidents Day holiday weekend.
Office Depot soared amid reports that the office supply retailer is in advanced talks to merge with smaller rival OfficeMax and a deal could come as early as this week.
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Among earnings, Medtronic posted higher earnings as sales gained, but shares traded slightly lower in pre-market trading.
Express Scripts rallied after the pharmacy benefit manager topped earnings and revenue estimates, thanks to increased demand for generic drugs as well as the firm's acquisition of Medco Health Solutions last year.
Investors will focus on earnings from Dell after the closing bell.
"Dell is in a really tough spot," Dan Niles, chief investment officer at AlphaOne Capital, told CNBC. "They are in the PC industry and that's a huge weight. Last year was the first year PC units declined since if you go back to when the tech bubble burst. Tablets are coming in, they are taking out the low end, smartphones are coming in as well."
Founder and Chief Executive Michael Dell remains in talks to secure the firm's $24.4 billion buyout.
Herbalife and Marriott International are also among companies scheduled to post quarterly results after the closing bell.
Best Buy jumped after Barclays upgraded the consumer electronics retailer's rating to "overweight" from "equal weight," citing stabilizing sales and cost cuts, as well as founder Richard Schulze's ongoing interest in a buyout.
In a light day for economic releases, the National Association of Home Builders' market sentiment index for will be released at 10 a.m. ET.
"We look for a modest increase to 48 in the February NAHB index of home builder sentiment, after a January reading of 47," wrote Barclays analysts Nick Verdi and Koon Chow. "The index has been steadily firming in recent months and now stands 31 points higher than at the start of 2011. Such a print would be consistent with our view of an ongoing recovery in housing across sales, starts, and prices."
—By CNBC's JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter: @JeeYeonParkCNBC)
Coming Up This Week:
TUESDAY: NAHB housing market index, HTC press event; Earnings from Analog Devices, CF Industries, Dell, Herbalife, Marriott, Fidelity National
WEDNESDAY: MBA mortgage applications, housing starts, producer price index, FOMC minutes, Sony Playstation event; Earnings from BHP Billiton, Devon Energy, Dish Network, Garmin, Toll Brothers, Sodastream, Cheesecake Factory, Tesla Motors
THURSDAY: Consumer price index, jobless claims, PMI manufacturing index flash, existing home sales, Philadelphia Fed survey, leading indicators, natural gas inventories, oil inventories, Fed's Bullard speaks, Fed's Williams speaks, Fed balance sheet/money supply, Fed's Fisher speaks, weekly rail numbers; Earnings from Wal-Mart, Chesapeake Energy, Hormel, Safeway, AIG, Hewlett-Packard, Cabot Oil & Gas, Newmont Mining, Nordstrom
FRIDAY: Fed's Powell speaks, Wynn shareholders meeting; Earnings from Abercrombie & Fitch, Washington Post
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