U.S. stock futures surged today, sparked by hopes that Greece and its lenders will reach a reform deal later in the day, potentially saving the debt-laden country from default.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 0.7 percent to 18,033, while those for the S&P 500 index climbed 0.7 percent to 2,112. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index picked up 0.8 percent to 4,534.
EU Economic Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said he was "convinced" that euro zone leaders holding an emergency meeting in Brussels on Monday would find a way out of the Greek crisis.
U.S. stocks closed lower on Friday as Greek worries weighed but the three major indexes were higher for the week on hopes that the U.S. Federal Reserve's planned rate hike will be slower than previously anticipated.
DATA:
The existing-home sales report is due at 10 a.m. It is expected to have climbed to 5.25 million in May, from 5.04 million in April.
MOVERS:
Williams (NYSE:WMB) surged 28 percent in premarket trades after the natural-gas pipeline giant said yesterday that it had rejected an unsolicited buyout offer worth $48 billion, but didn't specify who had made the bid. Today, Energy Transfer Equity L.P. (NYSE:ETE) said it was bidding $53.1 billion for Williams.
Cigna (NYSE:CI) jumped 8.9 percent in early trading after the board of healthcare-services company rejected a $47.5 billion takeover offer from Anthem (NYSE:ANTM).
Humana (NYSE:HUM) added 2.3 percent as sources said Cigna along with Aetna are participating in an auction to acquire the company. Aetna was up 0.7 percent at $125.
Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) rose 8.4 percent ahead of the bell, extending gains on its third day of trading, after jumping more than 50 percent on its debut Thursday.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) slipped 2.3 percent after Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) cut its rating on the shares to sell.
Carnival (NYSE:CCL) rose 3.3 percent in premarket New York trading after Deutsche Bank AG said the cruise line operator’s second-quarter earnings may beat forecasts, and raised its recommendation on the stock to buy.
OTHER MARKETS:
Asian markets moved firmly higher, also seeking comfort in hopes a Greek deal is imminent. China’s mainland market was closed for a holiday, after falling 13 percent last week in its worst weekly selloff since the financial crisis.
COMMODITIES:
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude futures for delivery in July moved above $60 a barrel, up 1 percent. August Brent crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange was up 0.7 percent to $63.47 a barrel.
Spot gold had slipped 0.5 percent to $1,193 an ounce, about 1 percent below its highest level since May 26 at $1,205 hit last week after a dovish Federal Reserve message on the timing of a U.S. interest rate rise.