* GM lifted by Fed action on GMAC
* Retailers hoping to salvage weak holiday season
* S&P 500 futures up 7 points
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(Adds figures on retail sales, updates prices)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Dec 26 (Reuters) - U.S stocks futures rose on
Friday as General Motors <GM.N> shares rallied before the
opening bell on news its GMAC affiliate qualified to be a bank
holding company.
GMAC LLC, the financing arm of carmaker General Motors,
won Federal Reserve approval on Wednesday to become a bank
holding company, giving it access to government lending
programs and helping it stave off bankruptcy. For details, see
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Shares of General Motors rose nearly 14 percent to $3.70 in
while Ford Motor <F.N> rose 6 percent to $2.24.
Many retailers, meanwhile, were hoping to make up for a
dismal holiday shopping period so far by slashing prices in
post-Christmas holiday sales to move inventory.
A report from SpendingPulse, a division of MasterCard
Advisors, said sales were down 2 to 4 percent from a year ago
for the full holiday season and declined 8 percent in December
alone. []
Bargain-hunting also may lend support to stocks, traders
said.
"It may not be the bottom, but it's no time to be 100
percent in cash," said Ron Weiner, president and founder of RDM
financial in Westport, Connecticut.
"There are too many bargains looking out 24 to 36 months."
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 5.6 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 46
points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures added 10.25 points.
By contrast, online shopping at some companies was
encouraging. Internet retailer Amazon.com <AMZN.O> said the
recently completed shopping season was its best ever, with 6.3
million items ordered on its peak day of December 15.
[]. Shares rose 5.6 percent to $54.30 in premarket
trade.
Jones Apparel <JNY.N> jumped nearly 16 percent to $4.50 in
early trade after company said that it has completed a $600
million amended and restated credit facility. []
Asian stocks edged up on Friday and Japan's Nikkei average
posted its highest close in six weeks as investors bet a raft
of government measures will help the global economy recover
next year.
Trading activity overseas was light with many financial
markets closed following Christmas Day. Markets in Hong Kong
and Australia were closed while many markets in Europe will
remain closed.
Oil rose above $36 a barrel on Friday after the United Arab
Emirates joined leading exporter Saudi Arabia in deepening
supply curbs in line with OPEC's biggest ever output cut
announced last week.
U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday in a shortened session
before Thursday's Christmas Day holiday. The Dow snapped a
five-day string of losses, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq
reversed two days of declines.
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
