Deals could buoy Wall Street
Investors maintain upbeat sentiment, eye developments on potential mergers and declining dollar .
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks, fresh off a solid week of gains, appeared ready for a strong start to the new week Monday amid talk about some major deals in the works.
At 8:41 a.m. ET, S&P 500, Nasdaq-100 and Dow Jones industrial average futures were all solidly higher.
Futures measure current index values against their perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.
U.S. stocks bounced back last week, with the Dow reclaiming the 10,000 mark. But trading could be choppy this week with little in the way of economic news.
Companies: In a day with no significant economic indicators being reported, investors will likely focus on corporate events, particularly talk about deals -- possible and completed.
Kraft (KFT, Fortune 500) launched a $16.3 billion hostile takeover bid Monday for British candymaker Cadbury after the deadline for the initial bid passed without a deal. Cadbury had rejected Kraft's initial $16.7 billion offer in early September.
Comcast (CMCSA, Fortune 500) and GE (GE, Fortune 500) have reportedly agreed on the worth of NBC Universal. The agreement is a major hurdle cleared for Comcast as it aims to gain control of NBC Universal.
Northrop Grumman (NOC, Fortune 500) has sold its consulting arm to two private equity firms. The $1.65 billion deal was announced Sunday.
"Mergers and acquisitions are starting to heat up, and that's always positive for the stock market," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners. "There really isn't any major economic news until Friday, so the markets are taking a different focus."
World markets: Asian shares advanced, with Japan's Nikkei adding a modest 0.2% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong jumping 1.7%.
Major European indexes were all up more than 1% in morning trading, with the German DAX leading the way with a near-2% gain.
Other markets: The dollar fell sharply against the euro and British pound, and held even with the Japanese yen in early trading. The weakness is a result of a G-20 meeting in Scotland held over the weekend that yielded no definitive agreement on trade imbalance solutions.
"With the dollar under severe pressure, the perception is that the declining dollar will fuel further speculative money into the stock market," Cardillo said. "That will also continue to fuel the rush into commodities."
U.S. oil for December delivery rose 97 cents to $78.40 a barrel after sinking nearly 3% on Friday's mostly negative labor market report.
Gold for December delivery rose to a new high Monday morning, gaining $12.50 to $1,108.20 per ounce.
Bonds fell as stock futures rose, with the 10-year yield falling back to 3.53%. Treasurys also fell in anticipation of a mammoth week of auctions for the Treasury Department's quarterly refunding. Treasury issues $40 billion in 3-year notes Monday, $25 billion in 10-year notes Tuesday and $16 billion in 30-year bonds Thursday. 
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