May 28, 2013- Stocks Look to Rally Back on Central Bank Decision to Support Monetary Policy

U.S. stock futures rallied, as strong gains in overseas markets helped put investors in a buoyant mood as they returned from a long holiday weekend. About 90 minutes ahead of the open, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 104 points, or 0.7%, to 15411. On Friday, the Dow edged up 9 points, or 1%, erasing an intraday loss of 95 points, but it still suffered its first weekly loss in five weeks. Standard & Poor's 500-stock index futures climbed 12 points, or 0.7%, to 1662 and Nasdaq 100 futures hiked up 27 points, or 0.9%, to 3019. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell. At 9:00 a.m. EDT, the S&P Case-Shiller 20-City home price index for March is expected to show a 10.3% rise on the year. And at 10 a.m., the Conference Board's consumer confidence index for May is seen rising to 72.0 from April's 68.1. In addition, data on manufacturing activity in the Richmond and Dallas regions are due out at 10 a.m. EDT and 10:30 a.m. EDT, respectively. Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ, said investors overreacted last week to worries that the Federal Reserve might wind down its asset purchase program sooner rather than later. Those fears appear to have passed. "The economy is still fragile enough that a very dovish Fed will wait until next year before tapering," Mr. Stovall said.