U.S. stock-index futures were higher today as investors watch a deal that would prevent Greece from defaulting on loans and amid a host of data that may give clues on the health of the U.S. economy.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.1 percent to 18,048, while those for the S&P 500 index advanced 0.2 percent to 2,116.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 0.2 percent to 4,542.75.
After talks yesterday, Greece now has 48 hours to bring a deal with its creditors to the finish line and end a five-month standoff over aid that risks default and possible exit from the euro. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras needs to shore up support at home for his plan, while euro-area finance ministers meet tomorrow to prepare the ground for a second, scheduled summit of European Union leaders Thursday.
DATA:
Orders for durable U.S. goods fell a seasonally adjusted 1.8% in May, mostly because of less demand for commercial aircraft, the government said today. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 1.5 percent decline.
At 9 a.m., the April FHFA home prices report is due. That’s followed by data on new home sales at 10 a.m., forecast to have climbed to 525,000 in May, from 517,000 in April.
Also on the data docket is the Markit flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for June, at 9:45 a.m.
MOVERS:
BlackBerry (NASDAQ:BBRY) rose 2.6% in pre-market trades after the embattled Canadian smartphone maker announced strong licensing revenue for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016.
Darden Restaurants (NYSE:DRI) gained 5.4 percent in premarket trade today, after the operator of restaurant brands including Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Bahama Breeze announced plans to separate a portion of its real estate assets to a new real estate investment trust (REIT).
IHS (NYSE:IHS) rose 0.3 percent to $128.63 after saying fiscal second-quarter earnings rose to $1.50 a share, beating forecasts of $1.45 a share. The information and analytics company said its board has approved a new $500 million share-repurchase program.
Green Dot (NYSE:GDOT) was up 29 percent in early trading on news that its contract to manage and issue Wal-Mart Stores’ MoneyCard debit cards was extended for another five years. Separately, Green Dot announced a $150 stock-repurchase program.
Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) rose 7 percent in premarket trade, extending gains into its fourth day of trading after jumping more than 50 percent on its debut last Thursday.
OTHER MARKETS:
European shares gained more than 1 percent to reach three-week highs.
Asian stock markets closed mostly higher, with China’s Shanghai Composite Index erasing an earlier sharp loss to end 2.2 percent higher.
COMMODITIES:
Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,181.35 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were down $2.70 at $1,181.40.
Brent crude was C$0.02 lower at $63.32 a barrel. U.S. crude for August delivery fell $0.35 to $60.03 a barrel.