Persian Gulf hope may spur stocks

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Indications of easing tensions between Iran and Britain - bringing oil prices lower - could be a positive factor for U.S. stocks when markets open Tuesday.

At 8 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were higher.

Oil was down after an Iranian official said the dispute over 15 British sailors seized last month can be resolved diplomatically. U.S. light crude eased 89 cents to $65.05 a barrel in electronic trading.

Treasury prices slipped. The U.S. 10-year note yield rose to 4.65 percent from 4.64 percent late Monday. The dollar was slightly stronger against the euro and solidly higher against the yen.

Stocks in Asia rebounded to close mostly higher after Monday's declines. Stocks in Europe were also up in early trading.

Wachovia chief economist John Silvia said the early strength in stocks and futures is clearly being driven by hopes that a settlement could be near in Iran.

"I think it's pretty much Iran and oil. It's the big gorilla in the room sitting there and bothering a lot of people," said Silvia.

Silvia said that market moves could be limited during the rest of this holiday-shortened week because of the fact that the Labor Department's closely-watched monthly employment report is due out on Friday, when markets are closed for Good Friday.

"I don't expect to see big moves ahead of that. I think traders will be hedging their positions," he said.

The only economic report due Tuesday is the National Association of Realtors reading on pending home sales, due at 10 a.m. ET. The more forward looking reading than the group's existing home sales report could be the latest sign of weakness in the closely-watched housing market.

In corporate news, Google (Charts) and EchoStar Communications (Charts) have partnered to create an automated system for buying, selling, delivering and measuring the impact of TV ads running on EchoStar's Dish satellite television service.

Milwaukee bank Marshall & Ilsley (Charts) could spin off its Metavante payment-processing unit to shareholders with private-equity firm Warburg Pincus paying cash for a minority stake in the unit, a deal that could value the unit at $4 billion, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Accounting firm Grant Thornton resigned as auditor for two troubled subprime lenders, Fremont General (Charts), the No. 6 lender in the field in 2006, and Accredited Home Lenders Holding (Charts), the No. 15 lender in the battered sector, the two companies disclosed in regulatory filings Monday evening.

The filings came the same day that New Century, which had been the No. 2 lender in the field, filed for bankruptcy protection.

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