--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 matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com