Before the bell: Stocks poised to soar at the open as GM set to file for bankruptcy
Posted Jun 1st 2009 7:37AM by Melly Alazraki
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, General Motors (GM), Market matters, Economic data, Oil
U.S. stock market futures soared Monday morning, indicating Wall Street might rally today, or at least at the open, as the stage is set for General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) to declare the long awaited bankruptcy shortly. With some relief as the bankruptcy is not expected to carry any surprises, and as hopes mount the worst of the financial crisis and recession is over U.S. stocks were poised to soar at the start of trading Monday.
The main story today is of course the auto sector, namely GM. The century-old automaker is expected to file and declare bankruptcy at 8:00 a.m. this morning after mounting $889 billion in losses. The government will likely end up with at least a 60% stake and an unprecedented role in reshaping the auto industry. It will be the largest industrial bankruptcy in U.S. history and the fourth-largest overall. Meanwhile, a federal bankruptcy judge has approved the sale of most of Chrysler's assets to Fiat, clearing the way for it to exit court protection shortly.
