Stimulus Optimism Lifts US Stock Futures

The U.S. stock index futures point to a higher open Friday amid investor hopes that the stimulus measures announced this month by policymakers around the world will be able to rejuvenate global economic growth momentum.

The futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 0.28 percent, the futures on the Standard & Poor's 500 index were up 0.31 percent and those on the Nasdaq 100 index were up 0.16 percent.

Investors will be focusing on the global sales of Apple Inc’s iPhone 5, the company’s latest smartphone. Investor sentiment was lifted as the higher-than-expected demand for the smartphone raised optimism of further growth in the company’s revenue.

On Thursday, the U.S. markets were mixed as investors continued to maintain cautious mode to find where the economy is heading following the announcement of the quantitative easing measures by the Federal Reserve. According to data released by the Labor Department weekly, the U.S. jobless claims fell to 382,000 in the week ending Sept. 15, down from 385,000 in the previous week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.14 percent, the S&P 500 Index was down 0.05 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index declined 0.21 percent.

European markets rose Friday as investor confidence was lifted with the hopes that Spain will soon seek help to reduce its increasing debt burden. According to a report by the Financial Times, talks are going on between the European Commission and Spanish government which will produce positive results to put in place measures required to have the bailout. This will in turn make sure that Spain will soon announce its decision to seek help from the newly declared bond-buying program by the European Central Bank.

London's FTSE 100 was up 30.40 points, Germany's DAX 30 index rose 29.68 points and France's CAC 40 advanced 17.19 points.

Asian stocks also rose Friday as the market players were optimistic that monetary easing measures announced by the central banks has undermined the concerns about the debt crisis affecting the euro zone. Following the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve’s moves in easing, the Bank of Japan joined the stimulus bloc this week by expanding its asset purchase program.