U.S. Stock Futures Follow Overseas Markets Higher

--Stock futures rise on back of gains in Europe, China

--Europe rises as Greece nears agreement on austerity measures, Spain's 2013 budget on tap

--China soars as record amount of liquidity added to banking system

 
   By Matt Jarzemsky and Tomi Kilgore 
 

NEW YORK--U.S. stock futures rallied Thursday, rebounding from a recent string of losses, with stabilization in European markets and China's move to add liquidity outweighing downbeat U.S. economic data.

Less than an hour before the opening bell, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures added 65 points, or 0.5%, to 13410. The Dow fell for a fourth-straight day Wednesday while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index dropped for a fifth-straight session, its longest slump since July.

S&P 500 futures added seven points, or 0.5%, to 1434 Thursday morning. Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2785. Changes in stock futures don't always accurately predict stock moves after the opening bell.

European markets traded broadly higher, with investors expressing some relief after the leaders of Greece's three-party coalition agreed on most of the austerity measures required to receive more bailout funds, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.6%

Also boosting optimism, Spanish markets stabilized ahead of the announcement of next year's budget, which could clear the way for a bailout request. Spain's IBEX-35 index gained 0.4% after sliding 3.9% on Wednesday.

Asian markets rallied after China's central bank injected a record amount of liquidity into the banking system this week, easing concerns over a potential cash crunch ahead of quarter end. China's Shanghai Composite ran up 2.6%, after closing at the lowest level since January 2009 Wednesday. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average climbed 0.5%.

U.S. durable-goods orders plunged 13% in August, sharply more than expected, the Commerce Department reported, the latest sign of a weakening manufacturing sector.

Economic output in the U.S. rose 1.3%, down from an earlier estimate of 1.7%, the Commerce Department said. Economists had predicted the department would reiterate its previous reading.

At 10 a.m., data on pending home sales is expected to show a monthly increase of 0.5%.

The number of Americans filing applications for jobless benefits fell more than economists expected last week, to the lowest level since July, according to the Labor Department. The report indicates the labor market may be slowly improving. But the prior week's reading was revised higher.

Front-month crude oil futures gained 1.3% to $91.16 a barrel, while October gold futures tacked on 0.7% to $1,765.90 an ounce. The dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

In corporate news, shares of Sealy Corp. rallied 3.7% in premarket trading after the company agreed to be acquired by fellow mattress company Tempur-Pedic International Inc. in a deal valued at $1.3 billion including debt assumption. Tempur-Pedic rose 8.8%.

Dollar General Corp. fell 3.5% after the retailer of low-cost goods said some of its current stockholders, including a unit of buyout firm KKR & Co. (KKR), will offer at least 30 million shares. KKR led a leveraged buyout of Dollar General in 2007 and has retained some of its stake since taking the retailer public in 2009.

Write to Matt Jarzemsky at [e-mail]