Stocks set for lower open
Futures sink following results from Bank of America; crude hits record high above $117 a barrel.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks were poised to struggle at Monday's open, as investors mulled weaker-than-expected earnings from Bank of America and the effect of a record trading high for oil prices following an attack on an oil tanker off the coast of Yemen.
About two hours before the market open, Nasdaq and S&P futures were lower, suggesting a negative start for Wall Street.
Weakening credit conditions hammered Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) in the first quarter. The bank said profit fell 77% to $1.21, or 23 cents a share, down from the year-ago $5.26 billion, or $1.16 a share.
Analysts were looking for a 41-cent profit, according to Thomson.
Bank of America also took $1.9 billion in writedowns in the value of its collateralized debt obligations and leveraged loans, although that was less than the writedowns in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the attack on the Japanese oil tanker sent oil prices spiking to a record of $117.40 a barrel in early electronic trading. There were no injuries reported in the attack, but the ship was reported to be leaking fuel. Oil prices retreated after hitting the high but were still up 18 cents to $116.87 in early trading.
Stocks rallied last week, even as quarterly results came in mixed. Another wave of companies are due to report this week.
Dow components Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) and Merck (MRK, Fortune 500) kick off the week. Both are slated to post results before the opening bell. Analysts are forecasting that Bank of America saw earnings plunge by nearly two-thirds but that it still will report a profit. Drugmaker Merck is forecast to post a narrow gain in earnings.
In other news from the battered banking sector, published reports Sunday said Cleveland-based National City (NCC, Fortune 500) is close to arranging about $6 billion in new capital from private investors, a much needed cash infusion for a Midwestern bank heavily exposed to the worsening mortgage and housing markets.
And early Monday, the Bank of England announced a $100 billion plan to allow banks to swap mortgage-backed securities for Treasury bills
In the tech sector, investors will be watching results from Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500), which is facing a takeover bid from Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500). Yahoo is due to post results Tuesday.
In other corporate news, Viacom (VIAB, Fortune 500) and five Hollywood studios are joining forces to create a pay television channel and video-on-demand service, the companies announced Sunday.
In global trade, Japan stocks rose. Major markets in Europe were mixed in midday trading. 
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