By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose on Monday on hopes that President-elect Barack Obama's plan for a major infrastructure investment push would help avert a much deeper slump in the economy.
Investor sentiment also got a boost from signs that the Big Three automakers -- General Motors
Shares of GM shot up 22.5 percent to $5 before the bell, and Ford shares climbed 19.5 percent to $3.25.
Friday's dismal payrolls data showed the economy shed more than half-a-million jobs in November, but Obama took center stage at the weekend by outlining plans for the largest infrastructure investment since the 1950s.
"People are stepping in, looking at what's going on and Obama looks like he's going to be able to fast-track one of the largest infrastructure spending packages since the history of mankind," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in Boston.
"As bad as the economic data gets -- it was pretty abysmal last week -- it fast tracks a lot of the financial stimulus that's going to be coming in."
S&P 500 futures rose 23.70 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 rose 188 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 29.25 points.
Obama, who takes office on January 20, said he aimed to create at least 2.5 million new jobs by 2011. Analysts say Obama's plan could cost at least $500 billion.
Increasingly the stock market has been shrugging off even the most disappointing news in recent sessions as it tries to sustain a recovery from its lowest levels in 11 years.
Year-to-date the benchmark S&P 500 is off 40.3 percent, but the broad gauge is up 16.4 percent since hitting the bear market low on November 21.
White House and congressional negotiators sought on Sunday to resolve remaining differences over an emergency rescue for the struggling auto industry.
The Senate is due back in session on Monday and negotiators hope to have a package ready that can be quickly approved and sent to President George W. Bush as one of the last measures he signs into law before Obama succeeds him as president.
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
