Stocks set to rally
Futures surge after Fed announces additional plans to ease tight credit markets, even as price of oil tops $109 a barrel.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were poised to rebound strongly from their recent losing streak Tuesday after the Federal Reserve and other central banks announced plans to pump more cash into squeezed credit markets.
The coordinated effort lifted sentiment, even as the price of oil climbed to new trading high above $109 a barrel.
Less than an hour before the start of trading, Nasdaq and S&P futures were higher, with a comparison to fair value pointing to a sharply higher open for Wall Street.
The Federal Reserve, along with other central banks around the globe, unveiled plans to lend an additional $200 billion as part of its lending program to 'promote liquidity' in financial markets.
The move by the Fed confirmed speculation that the central bank might take action ahead of its meeting scheduled for next week.
Recent signals that the U.S. economy is on the brink of a recession, including last week's troubling employment report, have led some to speculate that the Fed could take a more aggressive stance - including an emergency rate cut.
Oil prices continued to climb to new levels Tuesday, hitting a new trading high of $109.72 a barrel in electronic trade, helped by a weakened U.S. dollar. But prices pared their gains a bit as light, sweet crude for April most recently was 97 cents higher at $108.87 a barrel.
The dollar fell to a new low against the euro Tuesday, following a surprise climb in a reading on German investor confidence. The euro surged to $1.5495.
Wall Street also got some reassuring numbers on the U.S. trade gap, which rose to $58.2 billion in January, the Commerce Department reported. The results were up from December but the rise was smaller than economists had expected.
Companies to watch include chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN, Fortune 500), which cut its first-quarter sales and profit outlook late Monday after a decision by one of its wireless phone customers to scale back on orders.
Citigroup (C, Fortune 500) took action to bolster six of its hedge funds after they came under pressure by tighter conditions in the municipal bond market, The New York Times reported. The company reportedly is poised to inject $1 billion into leveraged municipal bond funds with $15 billion in assets.
Health insurer WellPoint (WLP, Fortune 500) lowered its earnings outlook for 2008 late Monday, citing rising medical costs and an enrollment decline in fully insured products.
Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) said Monday it will formally protest a $35 billion contract to replace air-to-air refueling tankers awarded by the Air Force to European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co. and Northrop Grumman (NOC, Fortune 500)
Gold prices opened higher. COMEX gold for April gained $8.80 to $980.60 an ounce.
In overseas trade, most Asian markets rebounded. European shares were sharply higher in midday trading. 
