U.S. stock futures pointed to small gains Thursday ahead of a report on employment as a top European official said a deal to help Greece has been reached.
S&P 500 futures rose 4.1 points to 1,067.50 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7 points to 1,751.70. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 38 points.
At a meeting of European leaders in Brussels, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy read out a statement saying that no direct aid will be delivered to Greece but that European governments stand ready to assist the country if needed.
The European Commission and the European Central Bank will monitor Greece's budget cutting efforts--a first assessment will come in March--and the International Monetary Fund will provide technical assistance.
In the U.S., weekly jobless claims data are due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. The Dow Jones consensus forecast is for a drop of 12,000 claims from last week.
There was merger activity Thursday. FirstEnergy (FE) said it'll buy Allegheny Energy (AYE) in an all-stock deal that values the smaller power company at $8.5 billion, including debt.
Air Products (APD) went hostile with a $5.1 billion for rival Airgas (ARG).
Viacom (VIA) rose 5% on a stronger than forecast profit, while Boston Scientific (BSX) fell over 7% on worries over the loss-making firm's outlook.
There was a busy day for earnings in Europe, where Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) and Air France-KLM issued disappointing outlooks while Smith & Nephew (SNN) and Rio Tinto (RTP) were more optimistic.
Asian markets ended higher, with Hong Kong and Chinese stocks rising after data showed a moderation in the mainland's consumer price inflation, while Australian shares received a boost from a solid jobs report.
The dollar held to a tight range while oil futures reclaimed the $75-a-barrel mark.
Europe stocks also rose, led by mining and health companies.
U.S. stocks closed with small losses during a snow-filled Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 all retreating between 0.1% and 0.2%.
Testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted at a gradual tightening of monetary policy, probably by other measures besides the main Fed funds rate.
Strategists at Credit Suisse said a recent pullback in markets--the S&P 500 is down 7% from its highest levels of the year--may continue in the short term.
"We think the period of consolidation may last another month: Tactical indicators are neutral and typically markets consolidate by 9% for 3 months around the first phase of monetary tightening (which this time is brought about by the People's Bank of China and the end of quantitative easing)," they said.
The Credit Suisse strategists said fears of a sovereign-credit crisis, China tightening, the end of quantitative easing, bank regulation and stalling U.S. employment momentum are overdone.
"We can understand these fears, but nonetheless believe clients should be buying on dips even if the tactical indicators are not giving a near-term buy signal," they said.
-By Steve Goldstein;44 20 7842 9424; AskNewswires@dowjones.com
Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100211-707240.html
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