US Stocks Primed For Higher Open To Close Out Tough August; DJIA Rises 98 Premarket

Could this be just an "end-of-month" performance gaming? S&P500 at 1217, but don't forget the bigger picture where the month's high was 1307. Roughly a 7.4% decline in one month.

--Stocks futures point to a fourth-straight gain
-- Europe markets broadly higher, Asian bourses also gain
--ADP employment survey shows 91,000 August increase in private-sector employment
-- Chicago -area manufacturing data still ahead at  9:45 a.m. ET
By  Brendan Conway  and  Tomi Kilgore
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

 NEW YORK  (Dow Jones)--U.S. stock futures advanced Wednesday morning, putting the market on track to close out August with a four-session win streak, as hopes for further stimulus from the Federal Reserve and broad gains in overseas markets emboldened investors ahead of some key economic data releases.

About an hour and ten minutes ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 98 points, or 0.9%, to 11590, while  Standard & Poor's  500 stock index futures gained 12 points to 1217 and Nasdaq 100 futures moved up 20 points to 2247. Changes in stock futures do not always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.

Stock futures added to their early gains after private-sector hiring rose by 91,000 jobs in August, a report by  Automatic Data Processing  showed. Although the figure was below economists' expectations, it suggested that the last month's market volatility and investor worries over debt crises in  Europe  and the U.S. may have had only a modest impact on U.S. hiring, which would be a positive for the battered jobs market.

The ADP figure is closely watched ahead of Friday's payrolls report, which is the week's key economic data point.

The Dow has gained 410 points the last three sessions to close at a 3 1/2-week high. If the premarket rise holds, the Dow will be in positive territory for the year as investors aim to close out a tough month. The blue-chip index has lost 4.8% for the month as investors grappled with debt conundrums in  Europe  and the U.S. amid worries of another economic downturn.

Hopes for further stimulus from the Federal Reserve and broad gains in overseas markets emboldened investors ahead of some key economic data releases.

The minutes of the last Federal Reserve policy setting meeting, released Tuesday, helped buoy sentiment as it revealed that a third round of asset purchases was raised as a possibility to support the economy and financial markets.

In overseas markets,  Europe  markets were broadly higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 rising 1.4% to stretch its win streak to three sessions. Asian bourses also gained higher, with  Japan's  Nikkei 225 index rising for a fifth-straight session.

Still ahead on the economic calendar, data on manufacturing activity in the  Chicago  region in August is due out at  9:45 a.m. ET , followed by July factory orders data on  10 a.m.

Gold futures slipped near  $1825  an ounce in seesaw trading. Crude oil futures slid below  $88  a barrel. The U.S. dollar slipped slightly against the euro and the yen.

In corporate news,  Oracle  lost 0.7% after the  Wall Street Journal  reported that U.S. authorities are investigating whether the software company violated federal antibribery laws in its dealings abroad.
Shares of Clorox edged down a fraction despite a statement by the household products company said  Carl Icahn's  latest offer to buy the company for  $78  a share "substantially undervalues the company and is not credible."

 DryShips  dropped 8.5% after the offshore oil-drilling vessel provider reported fiscal second-quarter results that missed expectations.

-By  Brendan Conway , Dow Jones Newswires; (212) 416-2670; brendan.conway@ dowjones.com

  (END) Dow Jones Newswires
   08-31-11   0838ET
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