Ready to rebound

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open higher Monday as deal news swirled overseas, oil prices fell, and a shakeup at Bear Stearns eased some investors' fears over the bank's exposure to the ongoing turmoil in the credit market.

At 7:30 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were sharply higher, indicating at least a partial recovery at the open from Friday's huge selloff.

Bear Stearns (Charts, Fortune 500) president and chief operating officer Warren Spector resigned Sunday, two days after the investment bank said it is weathering the worst financial market atmosphere in 22 years. Standard & Poor's changed Bear Stearns' credit outlook to negative and stable, and said it was reviewing its debt ratings.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell nearly 280 points on the news Friday.

"In the short term we oversold," Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co., said about the selloff Friday and why futures were so much higher Monday. "The concerns are still with us, but the punishment didn't fit the crime."

Bear Stearns has faced huge losses as defaults worsen in the subprime lending sector, and investors fear the trouble could spread to the wider credit market and crimp lending.

Overseas, Britain's ICI has reached a tentative deal to buy Dutch chemical maker Akzo Nobel (Charts) for $16.3 billion.

And Belgian-Dutch financial group Fortis won shareholder approval for its $18-billion bid to buy the Dutch arm of rival ABN Amro.

European markets mostly fell, albeit modestly, in midday trade. Asian markets experienced a sharper selloff in the wake of the steep U.S. decline Friday.

Falling oil prices may also be working to lift investor enthusiasm early Monday. U.S. light crude for September delivery lost $1.14 to $74.34 in electronic trade. Oil prices have fallen over $4 a barrel after hitting a record trading high last week of $78.77.

In domestic corporate news, private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management named ex-Home Depot (Charts, Fortune 500) chief Robert Nardelli as Chrysler's chairman and chief executive officer. Nardelli left Home Depot in January under a cloud of shareholder disapproval.

Treasury prices dipped, with the benchmark yield on the 10-year note rising to 4.70 percent from 4.68 late Friday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

The dollar fell against the euro and yen.