U.S. futures higher ahead of earnings reports; Dow Jones up 0.09%

Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately higher open on Thursday, as investors awaited a series of fourth-quarter results amid optimism over fresh talks on Greece’s bailout.

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.09%, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.07% gain, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.21% increase.

Talks between Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and the country’s creditors resumed on Wednesday, after breaking down last week amid disagreements over how much money investors will lose by swapping their bonds.

Greece needs to secure an agreement on restructuring its debt in order to access new bailout funds and avert a default when an EUR14.4 billion bond redemption comes due on March 20.

Financial stocks were set to be active as Bank of America and Morgan Stanley were both slated to release fourth quarter results later in the day. Bank of America shares surged 2.06% in pre-market trade.

More fourth-quarter results were due in the technology sector by companies including Google, International Business Machines and Intel, while second-quarters earnings were due from Microsoft. Shares in Google and Intel rose 0.21% and 0.16% respectively in pre-market trade.

Energy stocks were also expected to be in focus as Morgan Stanley's head of European oil research predicts BP will agree to pay the U.S. Department of Justice USD20-USD25 billion next month to settle all charges around the Deepwater Horizon rig blast and Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Elsewhere, Eastman Kodak filed for bankruptcy protection, sending shares down 29.69% in pre-market trade. The company also said it had obtained a USD950 million, 18-month credit facility from Citigroup to keep it going.

Other stocks in focus included AstraZeneca and Bristol-Myers Squibb, as U.S. drug regulators need further clinical data before approving a new diabetes drug.

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.16%, France’s CAC 40 advanced 0.69%, Germany's DAX rose 0.17%, while Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.18%.

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rallied 1.2%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.04%.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to publish official data on building reports and housing starts as well as a report on consumer price inflation. The country was also to release government data on unemployment claims and a separate report on manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area.