looks like a strong start....

A strong start looms
Lower oil, Mideast cease fire could combine to lift U.S. stocks at Monday's open.
August 14 2006: 6:05 AM EDT


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Lower oil prices and the start of the Israel-Hezbollah cease fire could combine to give U.S. stocks a solid jolt upward at the start of trading Monday.

At 6 a.m. ET, Nasdaq and S&P futures were higher, indicating a strong gain for the major indexes.

Oil was lower, due largely to BP's announcement late Friday that it will be able to keep half the Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, oilfield operating while replacing corroded pipelines. U.S. light crude was down $1.30 to $73.05 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent crude in London slipped 83 cents to $74.80.

Treasury prices eased, with the 10-year note yield rising to 4.99 percent from 4.97 percent late Friday.

Stocks closed mostly higher in Asia, although Japanese markets closed early due to a blackout in Tokyo. Major markets in Europe were higher in early trading. The dollar was higher against the yen but lower against the euro.

In corporate news, the Wall Street Journal reported Microsoft (Charts) plans to introduce software that it says will dramatically simplify the creation of basic games for the Xbox 360 game console, an effort to turn game players into game creators.