Stock Futures Rebound After Strong Caterpillar Results

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U.S. stock-index futures pointed higher Monday on the back of upbeat results from Caterpillar after Wall Street's worst week since 2012.

Today's Markets

As of 8:00 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures jumped 51 points, or 0.32%, to 15867, S&P 500 futures climbed 7 points, or 0.39%, to 1789 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 5.7 points, or 0.16%, to 3538.

The markets took a beating last week, with the broad S&P 500 tumbling 2.6% in its worst week on a percent basis since June 2012. The sharp move was ignited by worries that the beginning of the end of the Federal Reserve's vast bond-purchasing program could cause turmoil in emerging markets.

The mood was lighter on Monday after Caterpillar (NYSE:CAT) revealed considerably better-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of the world's biggest maker of heavy machinery, which is also seen as an economic bellwether, rallied 5%. Results from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), the world's No. 1 tech company, are due out after the closing bell.

Elsewhere, on the economic calendar, there is a report on the housing market due out at 10:00 a.m. ET. Economists expect new home sales to have struck an annual pace of 457,000 in December from the month prior. The housing market has been recovering recently, but there have been concerns that rising interest rates could put pressure on the burgeoning rebound.

In commodities, U.S. crude oil futures rose 38 cents, or 0.39%, to $97.02 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline fell 0.47% to $2.65 a gallon. Gold dipped 20 cents, or 0.02%, to $1,264 a troy ounce.