* Stock futures up on hopes for toxic asset plan
* Treasury Secretary Geithner to give more details
* S&P futures up 2.5 pct, Dow futures up 2.3 pct, Nasdaq
futures up 1.9 pct
For up-to-the-minute market news, click []
(Adds details)
By Leah Schnurr
NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set for a
sharply higher open on Monday after the U.S. government
released details of a plan to clean up toxic assets from banks'
balance sheets, a crucial component of efforts to stabilize the
recession-hit economy.
Bank shares rose in electronic trade following news of the
highly anticipated plan. Among gainers, Citigroup <C.N> jumped
20.2 percent to $3.15 and Bank of America <BAC.N> rose 17.1
percent to $7.25.
The Treasury committed $75 billion to $100 billion of the
financial bailout fund to launch a new program to mop up banks'
distressed assets.
In its formal announcement, Treasury said the three-part
program will provide financing through the Federal Reserve and
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp to aid public-private
investment partnerships buy up to $1 trillion in distressed
loans and securities. For details, [].
"The positive is that it relieves an anchor around the
necks of investors concerned about the viability of these
institutions and adds yet another layer of security to
hopefully gain investor confidence," said Andre Bakhos,
president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New
Jersey.
However, he noted that investors are concerned about the
unintended consequences that could emerge from the government's
aggressive moves to pull the economy out of recession.
Still, stocks looked set to rise close 3 percent, extending
a recent rally off of 12-year lows that was spurred by a series
of efforts to shore up the economy, as well as positive
comments from some major banks.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 18.70 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
182 points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures added 23.00 points.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to give
details on the plan, while data on existing home sales is also
on tap.
Energy shares could get a lift after Canada's No. 2 oil
company Suncor Energy <SU.TO> agreed to buy rival Petro-Canada
<PCA.TO> for about $14.86 billion. []. Exxon Mobil
<XOM.N> was up 1.2 percent at $66.91 before the opening bell.
Upscale jeweler Tiffany & Co <TIF.N> gained 4.1 percent to
$21.06 after reporting quarterly profit that beat expectations.
But Tiffany gave a disappointing earnings forecast for the
year, saying it has not seen signs of a turnaround.
[].
Also on the earnings front, shares of Walgreen Co <WAG.N>
rose 5.2 percent to $25.55 after the company reported second
quarter results.
Stocks fell on Friday as the Federal Reserve's plan to
rekindle consumer and small business lending fell short of
expectations and General Electric <GE.N> was hit by analysts'
bearish comments.
Even so, the S&P 500 finished its best two-week run since
1974 as markets extended last week's bounce off of 12-year
lows. For the year, however, the broad index remains down 15
percent.
(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
