Stock futures edge up as Greece moves on aid deal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures rose slightly on Friday as Greece asked the European Union and International Monetary Fund to trigger an aid package in what could be the largest state bailout ever attempted.

Uncertainty about Greece's future has hung over markets for several months, capping gains in equities around the world.

European shares held earlier gains after the news, while spreads between Greek and German bonds narrowed further.

"Once again we see the Greek drama playing out. The positive is the situation will be resolved, and it is one less potential flare-up point," said Barry Ritholtz, director of equity research at Fusion IQ in New York.

He said companies' "substantial earnings" are also supporting the stock market.

S&P 500 futures rose 4.2 points and were slightly 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 18 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 4 points.

Microsoft Corp reported a 35 percent jump in quarterly profit that beat estimates on Thursday on strong sales of its Windows 7 software, but the stock fell 1.2 percent to $31.02 in premarket trading as it failed to meet heightened expectations.

Amazon.com Inc slid 4.8 percent to $142.90 after the company forecast a lower-than-expected profit for its second quarter, even as it reported a quarterly profit that topped estimates.

The Commerce Department releases March durable goods orders at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expected an 0.3 pct rise in orders versus an 0.9 percent increase in February.

At 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT), the Commerce Department also reports new home sales data for March. Economists forecast a total of 330,000 annualized units, compared with 308,000 units in February.

Schlumberger Ltd , the world's largest oilfield services provider, reported a 28 percent drop in profit, just beating the Wall Street view, and said the outlook outside North America improved.

Johnson Controls Inc , Travelers Cos Inc and Honeywell International Inc all reported results Friday morning.

American Express Co said Thursday net income more than doubled, while credit card issuer Capital One Financial Corp posted stronger-than-expected profit after setting aside less money to cover credit losses.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc director Rajat Gupta told hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam about a $5 billion investment in Goldman by Berkshire Hathaway before the deal was made public, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing a source. Rajaratnam is fighting criminal insider trading charges. Gupta has not been charged in the case.

World finance leaders from the Group of 20 rich and emerging countries meet in Washington on Friday, hoping to plot a course beyond the global financial crisis.

U.S. stocks rebounded Thursday as strong quarterly profits from consumer bellwethers like Starbucks Corp outweighed worries about Greece's shaky finances.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

WhatsAppFacebookTwitterLinkedinBeloudBluesky