Stocks poised to extend gains

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks were poised to head higher at the open, building on the previous session's rally and ahead of reports on factory orders and auto sales.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were up ahead of the opening bell. Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Stocks started the year with a bang Monday, with the Dow closing at a fresh two-year high, after manufacturing and construction reports stoked investor confidence about the economy.

All three major indexes posted double-digit percentage gains for 2010, and that momentum is expected to spill over into the new year as economic data continues to improve.

"The rally wants to continue, and we have a lot of economic news coming out this week -- with the granddaddy report on unemployment due Friday," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist for Avalon Partners. "What happens in the first two weeks of January generally sets the tone for the rest of the year, and so far it looks like enthusiasm for equities will continue."

Economy: After the opening bell, the Commerce Department is slated to release its report on November factory orders. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect total orders to fall by 0.3%.

Major auto companies will release sales figures for December, starting late morning. Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect auto sales for December to drop to 3.7 million, from 3.8 million the previous month. Truck sales are expected to drop to 5.3 million from 5.5 million.

In the afternoon, the Federal Reserve will release minutes from its December meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee -- during which the governing body held interest rates at near 0%.

Reports on jobless claims, job cuts and manufacturing are on tap later in the week, and the government's closely-watched jobs report is due Friday.

Economists expect the monthly report to show employers boosted payrolls by 135,000 last month, after adding 39,000 jobs in November.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is also scheduled to testify before the Senate budget panel on Friday.

World markets: European stocks rose in mid-morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 2%, the DAX in Germany edged up 0.3% and France's CAC 40 rose 0.9%.

Asian markets ended the session higher. The Shanghai Composite jumped 1.6%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong ticked up 1% and Japan's Nikkei gained 1.7%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the euro and the British pound, but gained versus the Japanese yen.

Oil for February delivery edged up 29 cents to $91.84 a barrel.

Gold futures for February delivery pulled back from the previous session's highs slipping $15.50 to $1,407.40 an ounce.

Silver, copper and platinum prices also fell in pre-market trading. Cardillo said the sell-off in metals could weigh on related equities during Monday's session.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 3.37% from 3.35% late Friday.