NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A newly announced bank merger and a reaffirmation of Intel's forecast may point to a stock rally Monday as summer begins on Wall Street.

Early Monday, Nasdaq and S&P futures were solidly higher.

For details of Friday's session, click above.

Wachovia (WB: Research, Estimates), the nation's fourth-largest bank, said it will acquire SouthTrust (SOTR: Research, Estimates) for about $14.3 billion in stock. The terms call for Wachovia to issue 0.89 of a Wachovia share for each SouthTrust share.

That values SouthTrust at $41.83 per share, a 20 percent premium over the shares' Friday closing price of $34.80 on the Nasdaq. Shares of SouthTrust gained $3.22, or 9.3 percent, to $38.02 in before-hours trading Monday, while Wachovia shares fell 42 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $46.58.

Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates) CEO Craig Barrett told a Spanish newspaper this weekend that he expects record second-quarter profit to rival that of the first quarter and that the recession in the semiconductor sector is over. Among U.S. stocks trading in Europe, Intel was slightly higher in Monday trading.

The resumption of oil exports from one Iraqi pipeline sabotaged last week helped send futures lower. U.S. light crude was down 42 cents to $38.33 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent oil futures slipped 17 cents to $36.04 a barrel in London.

Stocks were mixed last week after a generally positive Friday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.1 percent while the Nasdaq composite index was 0.6 percent lower. (See chart for details)

Asian-Pacific stocks ended higher Monday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index surging 1.9 percent. European markets were mixed in morning trading. (Check the latest on world markets)

Treasury prices were little changed, with the 10-year note yield at 4.71 percent. The dollar gained against the euro, but was lower versus the euro. Gold was lower.

In other corporate news, General Electric (GE: Research, Estimates) plans to bring all of its consumer finance businesses under one global brand, to be known as GE Money, as a published report says it is preparing to expand its retail banking business.

Walgreen, the nation's largest drugstore chain, is due to report quarterly results early Monday. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call expect fiscal third-quarter earnings to have risen 16 percent to 32 cents a share. Shares of Walgreen (WAG: Research, Estimates) lost 16 cents to $34.74 in after-hours trading Friday after a gain of 2 cents in regular-hours activity.

Commerce Secretary John Snow told CNN Sunday that the U.S. economy should grow by more than 4 percent in the coming quarters, and it is "reasonable" to expect the creation of between 200,000 and 300,000 jobs a month.