Stocks Set for Firm Start to '05; Oil Off By Megan Davies NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock futures rose on Monday, pointing to a solid start to the New Year, as oil prices tumbled more than a dollar and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) brightened its outlook for December sales. Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer, rose nearly 2 percent on the Inet electronic brokerage system, after it said sales rose 3 percent at U.S. stores open at least a year -- higher than its forecast a week ago. Meanwhile, Internet stocks Google Inc. (GOOG.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) , rose after Goldman Sachs raised fourth-quarter estimates for the companies. Google rose 2.5 percent to $197.71, while Yahoo rose 2.5 percent to $38.60 on Inet. S&P 500 futures were up 5.10 points, higher than fair value accounting for interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract, indicating a higher start to trading. Dow Jones industrial index futures were up 62 points, while Nasdaq futures gained 8 points. A flush of "new money" coming into the market, such as from 401K retirement savings plans, could be helping, said John O'Donoghue, CSFB managing director of listed trading. "Its the usual first week or two of the year where you normally see these in-flows of funds. Also, oil is down which should help." Oil prices fell on expectations that more mild U.S. weather at the start of the New Year will limit heating oil demand. U.S. oil prices (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) dropped $1.25 to $42.20 a barrel. Higher oil prices can hurt consumer spending and corporate profit margins, and a drop in the price of crude is generally positive for equities. Investors were also looking ahead to economic data. The Institute for Supply Management's factory survey for December may drive sentiment if it comes in above the 58.1 level economists forecast. The survey is due at 1000 EST, the same time as a report on construction spending in November. "The ISM will be an important number and if it comes in with a decent bias it should help the market," said O'Donoghue. On the corporate front, drugstore chain Walgreen Co. (WAG.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) jumped nearly 4 percent to $39.75 on Inet, after it posted a 30.5 percent jump in quarterly profit. Some semiconductor stocks were ahead, such as Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) , up 1 percent to $23.65 in light pre-market trade. Data from the Semiconductor Industry Association, released after the closing bell on Friday, showed that worldwide sales of semiconductors grew 1.3 percent in November on a month-on-month basis. Meanwhile, Bernstein analyst Adam Parker said that he "modestly" preferred Intel to Texas Instruments in the near term. Meanwhile, microchip maker Nvidia Corp. (NVDA.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) rose 3 percent to $24.37. A Barron's report said the shares could hit $36 because of a deal it signed to supply graphics technology for the next generation of the PlayStation computer game system. Quelle "Stocks Set for Firm Start to '05; Oil Off" : reuters.com Main page for "Stocks Set for Firm Start to '05; Oil Off"