Stock futures point toward higher opening

[February 16, 2010]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock futures rose Tuesday as investors return from a long holiday weekend hunting for signs that the economy is continuing to grow.

Earnings and economic reports throughout the week are likely to be scrutinized to see if the U.S. economy is continuing to improve despite concerns about overseas growth.

European markets rose following new plans by European Union leaders to push Greece to contain its growing debt problems. European leaders on Monday said Greece will have another month to come up with a plan to reduce its deficit, but again pledged to support the debt-burdened country.

The news was reassuring that worst-case scenarios are unlikely.

Markets have been dragged down in recent weeks because of concerns that mounting debt in Greece and some other European nations, like Portugal and Spain, would spread and squash a global economic recovery.

In the U.S., Kraft Foods Inc. reported a fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts' expectations.

Earnings reports over the past month have mostly been better than expected, but have not been strong enough to overcome overseas concerns. With investors concerns about Greek debt easing somewhat, the focus might start to return to domestic growth.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 34, or 0.3 percent, to 10,151. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 4.70, or 0.4 percent, to 1,083.80, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 10.00, or 0.6 percent, to 1,793.25.

Investors looking for signs of how the U.S. economy is performing will get plenty of reports throughout the holiday-shortened week. The market was closed Monday for President's Day.

Two regional manufacturing indexes are scheduled for release, including the Empire State manufacturing index on Tuesday. The report, due out at 8:30 a.m., likely rose to 18 in February, from 15.92 last month, according to economists polled by Thomson Reuters.

Traders will also be closely watching reports on housing starts, jobless claims and inflation throughout the week.

Stocks were mixed on Friday after China announced new requirements that force banks to hold more reserves. The move is aimed at preventing potential speculative bubbles. A better-than-expected report on January retail sales provided some support for stocks.

The Dow and S&P 500 both fell, while the Nasdaq composite index rose modestly.

The Dow rose 0.9 percent last week, after four straight weeks of losses.

Meanwhile, bond prices fell Tuesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.71 percent from 3.70 percent late Friday.

The dollar fell against other major currencies. Gold and oil both rose.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 1.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.7 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.2 percent.

[Associated Press; By STEPHEN BERNARD]

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