Stock futures rise as euro resumes climb

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Tuesday along with the euro as strong demand at debt auctions eased concerns about euro zone fiscal problems.

The common currency has been the yardstick used by equity investors lately to gauge risk appetite.

"The stability in the euro is allowing markets to continue this slow grind ahead," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.

S&P 500 futures rose 5 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 54 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 11.25 points.

S&P 500 futures face psychological and technical hurdles ahead, with the 1,100 level and the 200-day simple moving average at around 1,102.

Spain and Belgium sold government debt and Ireland issued bonds in auctions that soothed investors worried about the euro zone's debt crisis.

European shares traded slightly higher led by banks as investors brushed aside a downgrade of Greece's credit rating by Moody's.

BP Plc's ADRs were up 2.7 percent to $31.49 in premarket trading. Its U.S. chief faces grilling in Congress on Tuesday that will include accusations it caused the worst oil spill in U.S. history with a calculated strategy to cut costs. Fitch downgraded BP's credit rating to 'BBB' from 'AA', citing near-term payment risks.

Lamar McKay, the head of BP America, will be joined at the hearings by executives from Exxon Mobil Corp , Chevron Corp , ConocoPhillips and Royal Dutch Shell who try to stave off an industry drubbing.

On the macroeconomic front, the New York Federal Reserve releases its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for June at 8:30 a.m. EDT, while the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) issues its June housing market index at 10 a.m.

For the Empire survey, economists expect a reading of 20 following May's 19.11, while for the NAHB index, a reading of 21 is expected, slightly lower than the previous month's 22.

Best Buy Co shares dropped 7.4 percent to $38.02 premarket after it reported quarterly results.

News Corp will be in the spotlight after BSkyB rejected its proposal to buy the rest of the company News Corp doesn't already own in a deal that valued BSkyB at about $19 billion.

Hershey Co plans to cut 500 to 600 jobs, or up to 5 percent of its workforce, in a restructuring aimed at saving some $60 million to $80 million annually.

U.S. stocks ended little changed in a low-volume session Monday after the Greek downgrade curbed risk appetite.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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