Stock futures rise after Greece gets bailout

[March 26, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock futures are rising Friday after European leaders agreed to bail out debt-burdened Greece.

Domestically, investors will look to a final reading of fourth-quarter gross domestic product and a report on March consumer sentiment for signs of an economic rebound.

The joint European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout will not make money immediately available to Greece, but instead act more as a safety net. Greece or other members of the 16-nation eurozone will be able to receive money if they cannot raise it on their own.

Runaway debt in Greece and other European countries had been one of the few drags on an otherwise rising stock market in recent months. Investors have been concerned that mounting debt in places like Greece, Portugal and Spain would spread and upend a nascent global economic recovery.

European investors were cautious about the deal and sent stocks slightly lower. But the euro, which dipped to a 10-month low against the dollar earlier in the week, rose sharply.

A weaker dollar should help commodities, which in turn should provide a boost to energy and material stocks. A stronger dollar hurt energy and material stocks Thursday.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 25, or 0.2 percent, to 10,816. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.70, or 0.2 percent, to 1,165.40, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 4.00, or 0.2 percent, to 1,953.50.

A final reading on the nation's economic output for the fourth quarter likely will remain unchanged from a previous estimate. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters forecast GDP grew at a pace of 5.9 percent in the final three months of 2009.

The report is due out at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

Growth likely slowed in the first quarter as a surge in manufacturing and government-supported programs slowed. At the same time, consumer spending did not ramp up fast enough to offset declines elsewhere.

The strength of the consumer remains a key factor in how strong a recovery will be throughout the rest of the year. High unemployment has kept consumers wary, which has been reflected in recent months in consumer confidence surveys.

Economists predict the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for March likely inched higher to 73 from a previous estimate of 72.5.

Stocks have been grinding higher in recent weeks as new economic reports show signs of improvement in the economy, although that growth remains slow. The Dow has risen in 16 of the past 20 trading sessions.

Concerns about Greece's debt problems erased big gains in the market late Thursday as leaders still hadn't agreed to a deal. The Dow ended up just 5 points for the day after touching a 2010 high earlier in the session.

Meanwhile, bond prices rose Friday after three straight down days. Weak demand at the government's latest auctions for Treasury notes has sent prices tumbling and interest rates sharply higher.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.85 percent from 3.89 percent late Thursday. The 10-year note is often used as a benchmark for interest rates on consumer loans.

Gold and oil rose.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 0.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.6 percent.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN BERNARD]

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