Stocks Seen Higher, Oracle Could Help By Megan Davies NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set for a higher open on Monday, helped by news business software maker Oracle Corp. (ORCL.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) struck a deal to buy rival PeopleSoft Inc.(PSFT.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) , ending a bitter takeover battle. Oracle, which also reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, will pay $10.3 billion for PeopleSoft, or $26.50 a share -- sweetened from its previous offer of $24 a share. Oracle's shares shot up 7 percent to $14.25 on the Inet electronic brokerage, while PeopleSoft leapt 10 percent to $26.42. Both are quoted on Nasdaq. "We had a relatively directionless week last week and are looking for a new catalyst -- and the confirmation of this deal, which looks as though it could close in as early as two weeks, will put some excitement back into tech stocks and software stocks," said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "I think the wider market tends to celebrate at the same time that Nasdaq does, so we'll probably have a pretty good broad market rally in the early going." S&P 500 futures were up 1.5 points, above fair value accounting for interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial index futures were up 17 points, while Nasdaq futures gained 6.5 points. Oil prices nudged lower, with U.S. light crude dropping 9 cents to $40.62 a barrel (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) after shedding $1.83 on Friday. High oil prices can hurt corporate profits and consumer spending, and a drop in crude generally benefits stocks. Analysts were looking ahead to retail sales data, released by the Commerce Department at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT). A Reuters poll showed that analysts expect the U.S. retail sector was likely hurt by softer car sales in November, further evidence that the crucial holiday shopping season was off to an unimpressive start. Analysts were looking for a 0.1 percent drop in overall retail sales. Among other stocks in focus was chip maker Conexant Systems Inc. (CNXT.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) , which tumbled 9 percent to $1.70 after forecasting lower first quarter revenues. Health care and consumer products maker Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) rose 1.5 percent on Inet to $61.20. It held extended talks late Sunday over details of an acquisition of medical-device maker Guidant Corp. (GDT.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) that could be worth more than $24 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. The world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) said on Saturday it still expects a 1 percent to 3 percent increase in December sales at its U.S. stores open at least a year. While food sales showed strength, general merchandise was not as strong, the company said. Quelle "Stocks Seen Higher, Oracle Could Help" : reuters.com Main page for "Stocks Seen Higher, Oracle Could Help"