* European bank results buoy sentiment
* Ford jumps amid expectations of a sales rebound
* July ISM manufacturing data on tap
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Recasts first paragraph, updates prices)
By Angela Moon
NEW YORK, Aug 3 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks headed for a higher
open on Monday as solid results from major European banks and
expectations of a sales rebound for Ford Motor Co <F.N>
reinforced hopes that the recession is moderating.
Shares of Ford were up 7 percent at $8.58 before the bell
after senior company executives said the automaker was on track
to post its first monthly sales increase in two years. For
details, see []
In banking news, Barclays PLC <BARC.L><BCS.N> reported an
8 percent rise in half-year profit, while HSBC Holdings PLC
<HSBA.L><HBC.N> said its first-half profit halved from a year
ago, but the results were better than the analyst consensus
forecast.
"The greatest difficulty has been in financials, so the
gains in HSBC and Barclays (are) adding to optimism and
(suggest) that the worst may be over," said Andre Bakhos,
president of Princeton Financial Group, in New Brunswick, New
Jersey.
"It's comforting to see that we are in a global rebound in
earnings."
The Select Sector SPDR Financial ETF <XLF> was up 2.2
percent before the bell.
A rise in oil prices was also poised to underpin the
broader market, with U.S. front-month crude <CLc1> up 2.4
percent, or $1.65, to $71.10 a barrel.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 10 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> climbed
74 points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures were 17.00 points
higher.
The rise in U.S. stock index futures suggested that indexes
will open up about 1 percent or more. The benchmark S&P 500
<.SPX> could begin trading at a 9-month high, very close to the
psychologically important 1,000 level, after registering its
best five-month winning streak since 1938 on Friday.
In Europe stocks were up more than 1 percent <>.
3M Co <MMM.N> shares rose 2.4 percent to $72.22 before the
bell after Goldman Sachs upgraded the Dow component to "buy"
from "neutral." []
Ford, due to report its July sales later in the day, is
among the primary beneficiaries of the federal government's
"Cash for Clunkers" incentive program that took effect on July
24.
The Senate on Monday is due to vote on extending the
program to stimulate auto sales after the U.S. House approved
$2 billion for it on top of an initial $1 billion in June.
[]
The economic calendar includes the Institute for Supply
Management's manufacturing index due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT). A
Reuters poll of economists forecast a July reading of 46.2 from
44.8 in June.
(Additional reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; Editing by Padraic
Cassidy)
