Market News

Stock futures in narrow range ahead of opening

NEW YORK -Stock futures rose but were down from their highs Wednesday while investors waited for details about a potential rescue package for Greece.

Officials said the European Union member nations have made no final decisions about how to help the debt-burdened country, but talks are continuing. Stocks surged Tuesday as investors expected Greece would get help. The Dow Jones industrial average rallied more than 150 points.

Major European markets all rose Wednesday.

EU leaders and Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss the economic health of nations that use the euro.

Markets have dropped in recent weeks over concerns that debt problems in Greece, Spain and Portugal would spread and upend a global economic recovery. A bailout for Greece raises hopes that European officials will take additional steps to contain debt worries in other countries.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 7, or 0.1 percent, to 10,011. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 0.30, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,066.50, while Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 1.75, or 0.1 percent, to 1,753.75.

Investors were also awaiting congressional testimony from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke about how the Fed plans to unwind stimulus measures without sending the nation back into recession. The measures were launched in recent years to help boost economic growth during the recession.

Separately, the government said the trade deficit surged to a larger-than-expected $40.18 billion in December as a rebounding economy pushed up demand for imports. For the entire year, the deficit totaled $380.66 billion, the Commerce Department report. That's the smallest imbalance in eight years. However as the economy continues to recover and demand for goods grows, it is expected to continue to grow.

Among corporate earnings, The Walt Disney Co. reported fiscal first-quarter profit after the market closed Tuesday that beat analysts' expectations.

Stocks rallied sharply Tuesday. The Dow jumped 1.5 percent, its biggest percentage gain since early November. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite indexes rose more than 1 percent.

European debt problems were the latest in a string of concerns that sent the market retreating over the past four weeks after a furious 10-month rally. China's plans to curtail economic growth to avoid speculative bubbles and President Barack Obama's calls to limit trading by large financial institutions dragged stocks lower in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, bond prices rose modestly on Wednesday after a big sell-off a day earlier. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.63 percent from 3.65 percent late Tuesday.

The dollar mostly rose against other major currencies, while gold prices was trading in a narrow range.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.7 percent, Germany's DAX index gained 0.9 percent, and France's CAC-40 climbed 1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.3 percent.