Higher open seen as dollar lifts commodities
Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Friday as the dollar fell, giving a boost to commodities, and personal income rose in April.
The U.S. dollar index <.DXY> fell 0.7 percent as the euro rose following comments from European Central Bank Governing Council member George Provopoulos, who said Greece could handle its debt if it sticks to its aid program. The dollar helped lift commodity prices, and oil gained 0.9 percent.
This has been a choppy week for equities, with steep losses early offset by a rally in the past two days. The S&P 500 is down 0.6 percent for the week. Trading volume could be anemic on Friday ahead of Monday's Memorial Day holiday.
The losses early in the week came on worries about euro-zone sovereign debt, as well as concerns that global demand was slowing. While there are few catalysts seen for strong positive advances, technical support suggests there is a floor for stocks.
Personal income rose 0.4 percent in April, as expected. Investors are also looking ahead to April pending home sales and the final May Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.
This is going to be a low-volume day, which portends a slight move higher as no one wants to be long going into a holiday weekend, said Gerard Greenberg, vice president of institutional sales at Merlin Securities in New York.
The data we get later shouldn't matter unless its exponentially better or worse than expectations, and with the dollar getting whacked we should see a positive day.
Economists see a 1 percent decline in home sales, compared with a 5.1 percent increase in the previous month. The consumer survey is seen essentially holding steady from the preliminary May level.
S&P 500 futures rose 3.3 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 18 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7.75 points.
The Group of Eight leaders agreed on Friday that the global economic recovery was becoming more self-sustained, though higher commodity prices were hampering further growth.
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Macau casino operator MGM China raised $1.5 billion from its Hong Kong initial public offering after pricing it at the top of its indicated range. The firm is co-owned by MGM Resorts International
(Editing by Kenneth Barry)
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