* Bargain-hunting buoys stock index futures
* Beaten down techs, financials among bright spots
* Fed to begin two-day rate policy meeting
* Report on consumer confidence on tap
* Apple, Google, US Steel rise before the bell
(Recasts first paragraph, updates prices)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, Oct 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks headed for a
sharply higher open on Tuesday as investors scoured the market
for beaten-down shares and bet that credit markets would see a
further thaw, overshadowing worries about the global
recession.
A recovery in Asian stock markets overnight and rise in
European shares added to the positive tone. Downtrodden sectors
like technology and financials were poised to lead the
advances, a day after a late slide sent U.S. stocks to their
lowest levels in 5-1/2 years.
Shares of Apple Inc <AAPL.O> , the maker of the iPhone and
the iPod, jumped 3.2 percent before the bell. So far this month
Apple's stock is down 19 percent, while the benchmark S&P 500
<.SPX> index has slid 27 percent.
A pullback from recent 13-year highs by the yen against the
dollar added to the positive tone. For details, see
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Analysts said the yen's decline suggested lower borrowing
costs in Japan were spurring investors to borrow there to
invest elsewhere, including in U.S. stocks.
"The path of least resistance for this market this morning
is up, not down," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at
Jefferies & Co in Boston. "We are clearly oversold at this
juncture so it doesn't take much to move the futures in the
early trade."
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> jumped 36.50 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
334 points and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures leaped 46.75 points.
The futures indicated the benchmark indexes would open
about 4 percent or more higher.
Credit Suisse started coverage of Web search company Google
Inc <GOOG.O>, a tech bellwether, with an "outperform" rating
and a price target of $400, according theflyonthewall.com. The
stock rose 2.7 percent to $338.50 before the bell.
There was also some reassuring news on the earnings front.
Shares of US Steel Corp <X.N> rose 4.6 percent to $32.25 in
premarket trade after the company posted a quarterly profit
that beat estimates.
In other news, Boeing Co <BA.N> and its biggest union have
agreed to a tentative deal to end the longest strike at the
planemaker's plants for 13 years and halt revenue losses
estimated at $100 million a day. []
Boeing was up 7.4 percent at $45.50 before the bell.
October consumer confidence is due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT).
Additionally the U.S. Federal Reserve begins a two-day
interest-rate policy meeting later on Tuesday.
Investors widely expect the Fed to cut rates on Wednesday
and are hopeful that credit markets will continue to show signs
of loosening up after interbank lending rates fell again on
Tuesday.
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
