U.S. stock index futures were higher today after a note prepared for the Eurogroup said the euro zone could help Greece repay maturing debt if the current bailout program is extended to November.
Standard & Poor’s 500 Index E-mini contracts expiring in September added 0.1 percent to 2,095.75. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 0.1 percent, to 17,835. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index dropped 5 points to 4,504.
Euro zone finance ministers will meet at 5 p.m. tomorrow to discuss Greece, in a last-ditch effort to avert a default next week. Greece failed again to clinch a deal with its international creditors yesterday.
DATA/FED TALK:
University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment for June is expected to be released at 10:00 a.m. The consumer sentiment is likely to remain at the preliminary reading of 94.6.
Kansas City Fed President Esther George will give a speech on the payments system at 12:45 p.m.
MOVERS:
Nike (NYSE:NKE) rose as much as 3.7 percent as the world's largest footwear maker’s quarterly results were boosted by new products and market-share gains.
TransUnion (NYSE:TRU), a risk and information solutions provider, climbed 1.6 percent after a 13 percent jump in yesterday’s trading debut.
Micron Technology (NASDAQ:MU) sank 14.8 percent after the chipmaker’s sales forecast missed projections as it expects a further decline in prices of chips used in personal computers.
Lululemon Athletica (NASDAQ:LULU) slipped 1.1 percent. The sportswear maker is recalling more than 300,000 women’s hoodies due to potentially dangerous drawstrings.
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) added 0.3 percent in early trading after the health and well-being company was upgraded to “buy” from “neutral” by Sterne Agee.
COMMODITIES:
Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,173.90 an ounce, while U.S. gold futures for August delivery were up $1.40 an ounce at $1,173.20. Spot gold earlier fell to $1,169.98, its lowest since June 8.
Brent crude for August was down $0.14 at $63.06 a barrel after ending the previous session $0.29 lower. U.S. crude fell $0.25 to $59.45 a barrel after finishing yesterday down $0.57.
OTHER MARKETS:
European stocks edged lower. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.2 percent. Greece’s Athex Composite index was 0.6 percent lower.