Stocks set for big gains

@CNNMoneyInvest November 28, 2011: 7:51 AM ET
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NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- U.S. stocks headed for sharp gains Monday, following record Black Friday sales and amid optimism that European leaders may be working toward a solution to Europe's debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were more than 2% higher ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Major retailers reported record sales of $52.4 billion over Black Friday weekend -- up 16% from last year -- according to a survey by the National Retail Federation released Sunday.

"The market question is whether the U.S. can pay attention to its own news, or be swamped by Europe's," Kit Juckes, head of foreign exchange strategy at Societe Generale, said in a research note.

Investors appeared to shrug off a warning by Moody's that the intensifying European debt crisis could lead to a downgrade of the region's sovereign debt.

Complete Black Friday coverage

While it's not new, reports about a coordinated effort to create some type of fiscal union in Europe appears to be lifting sentiment.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development called for policies to be put in place immediately to stop the eurozone debt crisis from spreading.

There could be more news in the afternoon, following an EU-US summit in Washington, D.C., Monday where leaders will discuss Europe's crisis, among other issues.

Last week, European bond yields spiked following a series of disappointing debt auctions, which further heightened fears of a contagion in the region and sent stocks about 5% lower for the week.

World markets: European stocks rallied in morning trading. Britain's FTSE 100 (UKX) jumped 2.1%, the DAX (DAX) in Germany soared 3% and France's CAC 40 (CAC40) climbed 3.8%.

Asian markets ended higher. The Shanghai Composite (SHCOMP) ticked up 0.1%, while the Hang Seng (HSI) in Hong Kong added 2% and Japan's Nikkei (N225) rose 1.6%.

Companies: Shares of Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500) rose 4%, after the online retailer said it sold four times more Kindles during this Black Friday weekend than the same period last year.

Apple (APPL) also saw strong Black Friday sales, with reports showing that customers bought 14.8 iPads per hour, up 68% year over year. Customers bought 10.1 Macs per hour, up 23% from 2010. Shares of the Apple rose 3% in premarket trading.

Economy: A report on new home sales is due at 10 a.m. ET. Economists polled by Briefing.com expect sales to have edged down to 312,000 in October, from 313,000 in September.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar slumped against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

Oil for January delivery jumped $3.16 to $99.93 a barrel.

Gold futures for December delivery rose $29.80 to 1,715.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 2.06% from 1.97% late Wednesday.  To top of page

Index Last Change % Change
Dow 32,627.97 -234.33 -0.71%
Nasdaq 13,215.24 99.07 0.76%
S&P 500 3,913.10 -2.36 -0.06%
Treasuries 1.73 0.00 0.12%
Data as of 6:29am ET
Company Price Change % Change
Ford Motor Co 8.29 0.05 0.61%
Advanced Micro Devic... 54.59 0.70 1.30%
Cisco Systems Inc 47.49 -2.44 -4.89%
General Electric Co 13.00 -0.16 -1.22%
Kraft Heinz Co 27.84 -2.20 -7.32%
Data as of 2:44pm ET
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
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