U.S. Stocks Futures Higher Ahead Of Bernanke Speech

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks point to a higher start Tuesday with the market looking for signals from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about a possible cut in interest rates.

Scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. Eastern, Bernanke's speech in Germany "is a good opportunity for him to help guide market outlooks regarding the Sept. 18 FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting," said analysts at Action Economics.

Dow industrial futures rose 37 points to 13,195, while S&P 500 futures gained 4.5 points to 1,459.80, and Nasdaq 500 futures climbed 9.75 points to 1,978.

Early data had the Commerce Department reporting the value of U.S. exports of goods and services increased 2.7% in July, the fastest seasonally adjusted growth in more than three years. .

Crude-oil futures gained 9 cents at $77.58 a barrel, with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries debating on whether to increase output quotas.

Fed moves

The market will scrutinize Bernanke's talk to Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, for any clues on coming Fed rate actions with analysts looking for the Fed to cut its target rate for overnight bank lending by at least 25 basis points.

"I wouldn't be selling, after transaction costs you may well be out of the money, particularly if Bernanke does give us a 50 basis-point cut between now and Sept. 18," said Tom Elliott, head of global strategy for J.P. Morgan Asset Management in London.

"But for new money, I would be inclined to hold it in liquidity instruments like cash. I think the market is so volatile and there's so much risk out there."

Bernanke's speech will follow remarks Monday by four Fed officials, with all saying the U.S. faces increased risk of an economic slowdown, but none saying the risk had materialized. .

Active issues

In pre-open trade, shares of ImClone Systems Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. climbed on promising research on their Erbitux drug in extending survival rates for patients with a form of lung cancer.

Countrywide Financial Corp. , fell after a New York Post report that the nation's largest mortgage lender had hired Goldman Sachs to line up another multi-billion investment in the company, just weeks after Bank of America made a $2 billion investment.

PepsiCo Inc. shares gained after its upgrade to buy from hold at Goldman Sachs, which also upgraded the beverage sector to neutral from attractive, citing improving fundamentals and reasonable valuation.

Dow component Wal-Mart Stores Inc. may be active after its filing late Monday revising its second-quarter profit lower by $153 million.

Shares of Take-Two Interactive Software gained in electronic pre-open after the video game publisher narrowed its quarterly loss.

After the close, Texas Instruments is due to give a mid-quarter update.

Overseas, China's inflation hit a 10-year high during August and its trade surplus widened to the second largest on record. And, Britain's deficit expanded in July.

The Nikkei 225 closed with a 0.7% rise in Tokyo, while the FTSE 100 climbed 1.5% in London.

By Kate Gibson