Stock futures rise on Alcoa profit. commodities

Before the bell, shares of ALCOA (AA.NY)Inc were up 7 percent at $15.20, a day after the Dow component posted its first profit in a year on cost savings and higher aluminum prices.

"It appears to be a robust start to the earnings season. For the moment, investors are optimistic and are looking for the bright spots," said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

"With the dollar's weakness continuing to fuel commodity speculation, this will continue to give the market an upward bias."

S&P 500 futures rose 9.40 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 75 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 12.25 points.

The rise in index futures suggested Wall Street would open up nearly 1 percent, following gains in Asian stocks overnight and a rise of about 1 percent in European issues.

In other earnings news, PepsiCo Inc reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit before the bell on higher volume in snacks and beverages. Its shares were little changed.