NEW YORK — Stock futures are edging higher on word of a pair of multi-billion dollar takeover deals but rising oil prices are keeping a lid on the gains.
Oil prices moved above $106 a barrel on Monday as fighting intensified between Libyan government forces and rebels, That suggests a prolonged cut in crude exports from the OPEC nation. Higher oil prices could hurt the global economic recovery.
Two big corporate deals may encourage investors. French fashion conglomerate LVMH says it will buy Italian jeweler Bulgari for $6 billion. Hard drive maker Western Digital plans to buy Hitachi Global Storage Technologies for $4.3 billion.
Ahead of the bell, the Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 5 points, or less than 1 percent, to 12,159. Standard & Poor's 500 futures are up 0.7 points, or 0.05 percent, to 1,321. Nasdaq 100 futures are up 4.5 points, or 0.19 percent, at 2,364.