June 27, 2008 Wall Street gets better start today

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stocks headed for a modestly higher open Friday, with investors looking for bargains after a dive in the previous session but wary about oil's pushing past $140 a barrel.

Wall Street is also awaiting a Commerce Department report on personal income and spending and a reading on consumer sentiment. Data on the average U.S. consumer should provide more insight into how much Americans - whose spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity - are struggling with rising prices, falling home values and the shaky job market.

The report is expected to show decent gains in personal income and spending levels in May, thanks to taxpayers' rebate checks. But the University of Michigan's revised report on consumer sentiment in June is expected to indicate that Americans remain very pessimistic.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up nearly 360 points and fell to its lowest level since September 2006 on a combination of worries about oil prices and the financial, automotive and technology sectors. General Motors Corp. shares dropped to their lowest level in more than three decades.

With crude oil on a seemingly unstoppable incline, Wall Street remains concerned that it will slam consumers with not only elevated prices for energy, but also for other goods if cash-strapped companies decide to pass along the rising costs. Early Friday, light, sweet crude rose more than $1 past $141 a barrel in premarket electronic

Ahead of Friday's data releases, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 5, or 0.04 percent, to 11,467. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.40, or 0.19 percent, to 1,286.80, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2.25, or 0.12 percent, to 1,868.75.

Bond prices edged lower. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 4.05 percent from 4.03 percent late Thursday. The dollar slipped versus other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.01 percent after Wall Street's tumble. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.5 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.79 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 0.69 percent.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)