Stocks point higher as traders grow more upbeat

[June 19, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors are shedding some of their recent caution about the economy.

Stock futures are pointing higher early Friday as stocks rise overseas. Investors are reacting to better-than-expected economic data on Thursday that suggested the U.S. economy might be in better shape than some investors had feared.

Oil prices also rose, a possible sign investors expect economic activity will pick up and increase demand. Light, sweet crude rose 79 cents to $72.16 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Traders also will be bracing for heavy volume and bouncy trading because of the occurrence Friday of a quarterly "quadruple witching," which marks the simultaneous expiration of a number of different options contracts.

Stocks are more likely to push higher during the expirations.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 36, or 0.4 percent, to 8,586. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 5.40, or 0.6 percent, to 918.60, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 13.00, or 0.9 percent, to 1,462.50.

Stocks rose moderately Thursday after sliding earlier in the week. A private research group said its forecast of economic activity rose more than expected in May. And the overall number of people drawing unemployment benefits fell last week for the first time since early January.

Investors have been concerned in the last two weeks that the economy won't recover as quickly as hoped when traders bid stocks up 40 percent in three months.

Bond prices fell again after sliding Thursday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.86 percent from 3.81 percent late Thursday.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.9 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 2 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.4 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.1 percent.

[Associated Press; By TIM PARADIS]

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