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Forex Pros – U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Monday, amid growing optimism over the pace of the U.S. economic recovery, while shares in General Electric climbed ahead of the open. <br /><br />Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed a gain of 0.15%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.25%, while Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.45%.<br /><br />Meanwhile, shares in General Electric climbed 1.9% in pre-market trade after chief executive Jeffrey Immelt said that the company would offer gas turbines to Tokyo Electric Power Company to ease power shortages throughout the country. <br /> <br />The stock was also boosted after Barron’s Financial Magazine said that the company, which designed the crippled reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, may not be liable for financial damages resulting from Japan’s nuclear crisis. <br /><br />U.S. listed shares of U.K. mobile-network operator Vodafone rose 1.5% after it agreed to sell its 44% stake in French mobile operator SFR to French media giant Vivendi for approximately USD11.3 billion. <br /><br />The world’s largest cruise-line operator Carnival saw shares add 1.3% after Barclays upgraded the stock and raised its price target by 30%, as traveling demand expands and as the company spends less on building new ships. <br /><br />Meanwhile, shares in Ambassadors International, which owns luxury cruise-ship operator Windstar Cruises plummeted 83.2% after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization after markets closed on Friday. <br /><br />Elsewhere, Southwest Airlines saw shares tumble 4.7% after the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board said on Sunday evidence of widespread fuselage cracks was found on a jet that made an emergency landing on Friday after a hole developed in its roof during flight.<br /><br />The airliner cancelled more than 60 flights on Monday as it continued to inspect for fuselage cracks in its fleet of Boeing 737 jetliners.<br /><br />Other stocks in focus include oil major British Petroleum, which said it was seeking to restart drilling in the Gulf of Mexico as early as July, and fast-food giant McDonald’s, which announced plans to hire 50,000 employees in April.<br /><br />Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher as increased merger-and-acquisition activity lifted market sentiment. The EURO STOXX 50 eased up 0.1%, France’s CAC 40 edged 0.05% higher, Germany's DAX added 0.17%, while Britain's FTSE 100 climbed 0.35%. <br /><br />During the Asian trading session, Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.11% higher as exporters performed strongly, boosted by the outlook for export earnings. <br /> <br />Later in the day, Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke was to speak at a public engagement. <br /><br />
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