Futures rise on Ford, Toyota meeting

NEW YORK, Dec 27 (Reuters) US stock index futures rose on Wednesday as the chairman of Toyota Motor Corp. met with the chief executive of Ford Motor Co., sparking hopes about a potential alliance between the two automakers.

Though Ford and Japan's top automaker did not discuss the possibility of forming an alliance, Toyota shares rose more than 2.5 percent to a record high in Japan and shares of Ford were up 3.4 percent in European trading. For details, see ID:nN26397498 Investors were also keeping an eye on key housing data for clues on the health of the U.S. economy and watching lower oil prices, which are seen as helpful to corporate profits. Trading volume is expected to be light as many traders were away in the holiday week.

''There's not much going on in oil, the year-end rally effect is on, and there doesn't appear to be any news that's going to derail the market train,'' said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in Princeton, New Jersey.

''Ford and Toyota, all they did was meet, and that would be positive for the market because it is another potential deal and these deals have bolstered the market gains throughout the year.'' Standard&Poor's 500 futures SPc1> were up 4.6 points, above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures DJc1> were up 46 points, and Nasdaq 100 NDc1> futures were up 10.75 points.

U.S. crude for February delivery CLc1> edged down 5 cents to .05 a barrel in electronic trading, extending a fall of more than a dollar from the previous session, as mild weather in the United States slashed demand for heating fuel.

The Commerce Department releases new home sales data for November at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a median total of 1.018 million annualized units in November compared with 1.004 million in October.

''The best-case scenario would be a number that is around expectations,'' Bakhos said. ''The jury is still out as to where this economy is really going.'' Also on the economic front, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago releases its Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index for November at noon (1700 GMT).

U.S. stocks rallied on Tuesday, as more merger and acquisition news helped stir some demand during what is historically a positive week for stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI> advanced 64.41 points, or 0.52 percent, to end at 12,407.63. The Standard&Poor's 500 Index .SPX> added 6.14 points, or 0.44 percent, to finish at 1,416.90. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC> gained 12.33 points, or 0.51 percent, to close at 2,413.51.

REUTERS PKS PM1759