U.S. stock index futures gained Tuesday, pointing to further gains for Wall Street as worries about Greece’s debt problems faded ahead of a crucial confidence vote later in Athens.
Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index rose 4.70 points to 1,278.50, while Nasdaq 100 futures gained 7.25 points to 2,207.25. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39 points to 12,052.
“Market sentiment has registered a cautious improvement overnight on hopes that a solution for Greece’s debt crisis could be found,” said Jane Foley, strategist at Rabobank in London.
U.S. equities gained ground Monday, rising after Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs the euro group of euro-zone finance ministers, offered reassurances that the next round of aid for Greece will be likely be disbursed provided Athens approves new austerity measures.
A vote is expected near midnight Athens time, or 5 p.m. Eastern.
But optimism over the Greek situation may be overdone ahead of a crucial confidence vote on Prime Minister George Papandreou’s government in parliament later Tuesday, said Heino Ruland, strategist at Ruland Research in Eppstein, Germany.
Investors appear confident Papandreou will survive, but sentiment would likely take a big hit if the government runs into problems, said Ruland. He sees potential for Papandreou to run into problems given the scope of public anger over plans for additional austerity measures.
Strategists at Lloyds TSB in London said the Greek government is likely to survive the vote despite ongoing protests over the terms of an additional bailout.
Failure by parliament to endorse the government “would not only rile markets further, but would also complicate the upcoming timetable [for additional aid] in light of the delays involved in processing a general election,” they said, in a research note.
Also Tuesday, an unexpectedly sharp decline in the ZEW indicator of German economic sentiment for June had little impact on U.S. index futures, with investors looking through the survey to the release of the Ifo Institute’s more closely-watched survey of German business sentiment on Friday, Ruland said.
The ZEW sentiment indicator, based on a survey of financial professionals, fell to negative 9.0 from 3.1 in May. Economists had forecast a decline to negative 4.1.
In corporate news, aircraft maker Boeing Co. BA +0.51% said Aeroflot Russian Airlines ordered eight 777-300ER jetliners, The order was previously attributed to an unidentified customer on Boeing’s orders and deliveries website.
Earlier, Boeing said Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA ordered 15 737-800 airplanes, bringing the carrier’s total orders from Boeing to 78.
Retailers will be in focus on the earnings front, with drug-store chain Walgreen Co.WAG -6.49% posting a 30% increase in third-quarter profit as the company also announced that it wouldn’t renew a business deal with pharmacy benefits manager Express Scripts Inc. ESRX -3.18% , shares of which fell in the premarket.
Also on tap, book seller Barns & Noble Inc. BKS -4.17% is set to report results ahead of the opening bell.
The economic calendar brings existing U.S. home sales for May at 10 a.m. Eastern.
In commodities, Nymex crude-oil futures rose $1.08 to $94.34 a barrel in electronic trading.
The dollar was mostly lower versus major rivals, slipping 0.1% versus the Japanese yen to trade at ¥80.15 as the euro also gained on the greenback.
European stocks pushed higher in the wake of Wall Street’s solid gains Monday and an advance by Asian markets overnight as worries about Greece faded. Bourses across Asia recorded gains, with energy stocks, Japanese auto companies and Hong Kong-listed property developers making gains. Read Asia Markets.
Blue chips led Wall Street to a higher finish to begin the trading week, with the Dow industrials DJIA +0.63% rising 0.6% to finish at 12,080.83. The S&P 500 SPX +0.54% closed with a 0.5% gain at 1,278.36, while the Nasdaq Composite COMP +0.50% finished 0.5% higher at 2,629.66.
