Wall Street set for gains as oil hits $70

By Sruthi Shankar

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks were on track to open higher on Monday, with energy shares gaining on the back of surging oil prices and Starbucks getting a boost from a partnership with Nestle.

U.S. crude climbed above $70 per barrel for the first time since November 2014, boosted by Venezuela's deepening economic crisis and a looming decision on whether the United States will re-impose sanctions on Iran.

Shares of Exxon rose 1.1 percent in premarket trading, while Chevron was up 0.7 percent.

Starbucks rose 2.4 percent after Swiss food giant Nestle said it would pay the world's biggest coffee chain $7.15 billion for the rights to sell its products around the world.

"Pre-market activity suggests a higher opening as WTI crude prices top $70 per barrel and Nestle-Starbuck deal offers a renewed enthusiasm," Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York, wrote in a note.

"With the Iran deal looming and the NAFTA talks entering the final stage, the market is likely to stay volatile."

President Donald Trump is set to decide by May 12 whether to pull out of the Iran deal, and talks to update the NAFTA trade deal enter a make-or-break this week as ministers from Canada, the United States and Mexico seek to resolve an impasse in key areas.

At 8:42 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 68 points, or 0.28 percent. S&P 500 e-minis were up 7 points, or 0.26 percent and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 31.75 points, or 0.47 percent.

Major U.S. stock indexes ended up more than 1 percent on Friday after weaker-than-expected U.S. wage growth numbers calmed investor fears about rising interest rates and inflation.

U.S. corporates have performed strongly in the first quarter, with nearly 80 per cent of the 400 S&P 500 companies that have reported so far topping profit estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

That is well above the long-term average of 64 percent and the average of 75 percent over the past four quarters.

Tyson Foods Inc fell 4.4 after the meat processor missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit as it was hit by higher freight costs and wages.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)