Summary US stock futures are rising sharply following a twist in race for top job at the Federal Reserve.
NEW YORK (AP) - US stock futures are rising sharply and major averages could hit new highs following a twist in the race for the top job at the Federal Reserve.
Dow Jones industrial futures are up 162 points to 15,473. S&P futures have gained 18 points to 1,700. Nasdaq futures are up 32.5 points to 3,204.
Lawrence Summers, the leading candidate to replace Fed Traders meanwhile welcomed news of a deal aimed at averting a US-led military attack on Syria, as they awaited this week s Federal Reserve meeting at which policymakers are expected to begin winding down the bank s stimulus programme.
London s benchmark FTSE 100 index rose 0.81 percent to stand at 6,636.80 points in midday deals.
Frankfurt s DAX 30 advanced 1.20 percent to 8,611.52 points and the CAC 40 in Paris won 0.82 percent to 4,148.05 points.
"News that Larry Summers has ruled himself out of the race to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Fed has been interpreted as a positive, with the market seemingly showing a preference for the continuity offered by current vice chair Janet Yellen," said Matt Basi, head of UK sales trading at CMC Markets.
In foreign exchange trade, the European single currency jumped to $1.3344 from $1.3298 late in New York overnight. The dollar fell to 98.88 yen from 99.35 yen. The price of gold eased to $1,318.21 an ounce on the London Bullion Market, from $1,318.50 Friday.
Markets were taken somewhat by surprise after Summers decided to withdraw from the race to become the next Fed boss.
The two other top contenders for the post -- Yellen and former vice chair Donald Kohn -- were architects of the Fed s bond-buying and supporters of the approach laid out by Bernanke. Summers was considered more hawkish towards the so-called quantitative easing scheme.
Attention this week is also on the Fed s plans for its $85 billion a month bond-buying scheme. With most economists betting the bank will announce a reduction of its purchases, the key issue is how quickly and by how much it will "taper".
Asian stock markets rallied on Monday as fears of an attack on Syria receded after the United States and Russia agreed a deal for the Assad regime to give up its chemical weapons, traders said.
Damascus said at the weekend that it would commit to a plan to eradicate its chemical weapons after a deal brokered by Russia and the United States that may avert a threatened attack by US forces.
US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov announced the deal Saturday that provides for Syria s toxic arsenal to be destroyed by mid-2014.
Global markets were sent into a tailspin last month on expectations of a US-led strike against Syria, fanning fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
"Given the (Syria) deal s potential to negate the need for significant military intervention it s no surprise the market has reacted positively, with memories of the lengthy operation in Iraqi still fresh in the mind," said Basi.
