U.S. stocks headed for a higher open on Tuesday as oil fell by almost $7 a barrel after the Gulf Coast and its oil facilities seemingly avoided heavy damage from Hurricane Gustav. Investors focused on the drop in oil as fears that Gustav would leave widespread damage across the Gulf began to settle. Light, sweet crude fell $6.94 to $108.52 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Past investors' relief over the early reports on damage from Gustav, commodity investors also appear to be questioning whether a slowing global economy will slow demand for oil and other commodities. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 98, or 0.85 percent, to 11,639. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 8.60, or 0.67 percent, to 1,291.20 and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 20.00, or 1.07 percent, to 1,895.00. The jump in stock futures follows a decline of 171 points in the Dow on Friday. The drop in oil prices sent stocks in sectors like airlines higher. In premarket trading, American Airlines parent jumped 13 percent, Delta Air Lines rose 14 percent and JetBlue Airways advanced 15 percent.
