NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street found some relief Friday from a report that a pounded-down Citigroup Inc. might put itself up for sale. That prospect, along with the possibility that low prices will draw in bargain-hunters after two days of steep selling, sent stock futures sharply higher.

The market's optimism about Citi and the financial sector overall came after The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday that Citigroup is considering the possibility of selling parts of itself or even the entire company following a plunge in its stock price. The shares, which lost 26 percent Thursday alone, are down 84 percent for the year.Early Friday, Dow futures contracts rose 211, or 2.82 percent, to 7,700 following a two-day drop in the blue chips of 10.4 percent, the biggest two-day slide since October 1987.
Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 21.60, or 2.89 percent, to 769.90. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 27.75, or 2.67 percent, to 1,067.25.