* Financial bailout fund to be extended to October
* Texas Instruments raises current-quarter forecast
* Futures up: S&P 4.80 pts, Dow 43 pts, Nasdaq 7.75 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Adds details, quote, byline, updates prices)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, Dec 9 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose
on Wednesday, indicating shares could bounce back after two
sessions of losses as investors regain some optimism about the
strength of the market rally.
The Obama administration plans to announce on Wednesday it
intends to extend the life of the $700 billion financial
bailout fund until next October, administration officials said.
For details, see []
Healthcare stocks could see interest after U.S. Senate
Democratic healthcare negotiators said they agreed to replace a
government-run insurance option with a scaled-back non-profit
plan. []
After a market rally of more than 60 percent from March's
12-year low, stocks have drifted in recent sessions as
investors locked in profits and looked ahead to the new year.
With the broad S&P 500 up nearly 21 percent for 2009, investors
are reluctant to lose any gains.
"Traders want to know if this is the start of a new trend
downward or just a reaction to news that snaps back," said
Barry Ritholtz, director of equity research at Fusion IQ in New
York. "So far it looks like the bet is this is going to be a
modest snap back after (a) fall."
Stocks fell 1 percent on Tuesday after disappointing
corporate news from 3M Co <MMM.N> and McDonald's <MCD.N>, while
negative developments in global credit markets caused a shift
to safe-haven assets.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 4.80 points and were above fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> gained 43
points, while Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> added 7.75 points.
On the corporate front, chip maker Texas Instruments Inc
<TXN.N> raised its current-quarter profit forecast and said
revenue would reach the high end of its target. But it
disappointed some investors who had hoped for a stronger
outlook on signs of improving demand in the wider chip market,
and its stock fell about 2 percent in premarket trades.
[]
PepsiCo Inc <PEP.N> lowered the top end of its revenue and
earnings outlooks as it steps up investments in projects aimed
at increasing its growth and profitability amid falling North
American soft drink sales. []
Ritholtz said the question for investors is when companies
will see improvement from growth rather than cost cuts.
"We have yet to hear a major CEO say it's clear the worst
is behind us and we're expecting to see not only profits but
revenue ramp up," said Ritholtz.
Energy shares could get support as the price of oil rose
more than 1 percent above $73 a barrel on industry data showing
a big drop in U.S. crude stocks and a weaker U.S. dollar.
(Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
