Monday December-15 Stock Market 2008

Asia stocks rise on renewed US auto bailout hopes
Asia markets recover on renewed hopes of US auto rescue and China spending plan
Asia's upward swing followed Wall Street, where stocks rallied from an early sell-off Friday as the Treasury Department said it was ready to assist Detroit's Big Three automakers after a $14 billion rescue plan died in the Senate.
U.S. stocks looked poised to build on last week's gains as Wall Street futures rose moderately. Dow futures were up 49 points, or 0.6 percent, at 8,738 and S&P500 futures rose 5.4 points, or 0.6 percent, to 890.80.
Among Monday's top gainers were car companies as investors bet the Bush administration would tap a $700 billion financial bailout fund to aid U.S. automakers. General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have said they could be weeks from collapse. Ford Motor Co. says it does not need federal help now, but its survival is far from certain.
Oil rose 98 cents to $47.26 a barrel in Asian trade as investors anticipated OPEC will announce a large production cut at its meeting this week. The January contract fell $1.70 to settle at $46.28 overnight.