NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Stocks could open higher Monday as investors look to continue last week's gains ahead of much anticipated comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and results from tech bellwether Oracle (Research).

U.S. stock futures were up in early trading, indicating a higher open for U.S. markets, after the major U.S. indexes closed Friday up about 2 percent each for the week, with the Dow nearing a 5-year high.

Bernanke will speak to the Economic Club of New York at 7 p.m. ET Monday, a week before the central bank policy makers hold their first meeting with him as chairman. While investors and economists agree another quarter-percentage point hike is virtually certain at that meeting, investors will be looking for clues as to the future of rate hikes at subsequent meetings in May and beyond.

Also after the close of markets Monday Oracle (Research) is expected to report improved fiscal third quarter results. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call lowered their forecast for the company to 18 cents a share last month based on company guidance; a year earlier, earnings were 16 cents. The software provider gave more bullish fiscal fourth quarter guidance at that time, and investors will be watching the firm's latest guidance when it reports results.

Oil prices were lower in early trading. The April light crude futures contract for NYMEX fell 34 cents to $62.43 a barrel in electronic trading, while the April contract for Brent crude lost 22 cents to $63.04.

Major markets in Asia closed higher Monday and major European markets were up in early trading.

Treasury prices were little changed, leaving the yield on the benchmark 10-year note at 4.67 percent level reached late Friday. The dollar was higher against the euro and the yen.

In corporate news, Wal-Mart Stores (Research) detailed its expansion plans in China over the weekend, with an executive there saying Sunday it plans to hire 150,000 people in China over the next five years and expects to open 20 stores in the country this year. Shares of Wal-Mart were up nearly 1 percent in Frankfurt trading early Monday.

The board of embattled automaker General Motors (Research) called for an investigation into the cause of newly uncovered accounting errors that forced a delay in filing its annual report and could postpone a critical sale of part or all of its financing arm, according to reports in the Wall Street Journal. The paper reports Jerry York, the company's newest director and an associate of investor Kirk Kerkorian is one of those outside directors pushing for the internal probe.

Shares of the telecommunications equipment maker Lucent (Research) dipped before the bell Monday following a report in Barron's that suggested the company's stock price could sink to $2.25 per share if demand for next generation telecom services is weaker than expected and if big customers make a push for lower prices.

British consumer products maker Reckitt Benckiser, known for such major U.S. brands as Lysol, Easy-Off and Woolite, is reported in talks to bid $10.5 billion for the over-the-counter medicines arm of Pfizer (Research), maker of Sudafed and Listerine, according to a report in the Sunday Times of London. Pfizer put the unit on the market in February, and last week U.S. consumer products maker Colgate Palmolive (Research) said his company was interested in bidding for the brands.

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