NEW YORK – U.S. stock futures advanced Wednesday on hope that a long-awaited deal to allow Greece to claim its second bailout was near despite another delay in discussions between the country’s political leaders.

Dow futures are up 17 points at 12,848. The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 futures are up less than a point to 1,345. The Nasdaq composite rose 3 points to 2,532.

Though a host of deadlines have passed without agreement, the prevailing view in the markets is that a deal for Greece to get its hands on euro130 billion ($170 billion) will be secured.

Greek coalition leaders are studying a draft deal on further austerity measures demanded to secure a new bailout that will determine whether the country avoids bankruptcy next month.

The office of Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said Wednesday that the heads of the three parties backing his interim government received the 50-page document, drafted with the country’s debt inspectors, earlier in the day. A meeting of Papademos and party leaders was delayed for two hours to give parties more time to study the draft.

The talks had been delayed for three days to make time for exhaustive negotiations with representatives of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund, on whose approval the continued flow of Greece’s vital rescue loans depends. Without the bailout, Greece would not have enough money to pay off a big bond redemption next month, triggering a default that could send shockwaves around financial markets and the global economy.

Greece has been kept solvent for the last two years by euro110 billion ($145 billion) in international rescue loans. But the money was not enough and a second loan is urgently needed to avert bankruptcy.

That optimism helped European and Asian markets rise. Asian stocks also got a boost from a decline in the yen, which is good for Japanese exporters.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.3 percent at 5,907 while Germany’s DAX rose 0.7 percent to 6,800. The CAC-40 in France was 0.5 percent higher at 3,427.

The euro clambered higher, trading up 0.1 percent at $1.3275, a fresh two-month high.

Earlier in the day, Asian stocks posted sharp gains following a retreat of the yen that was welcomed by Japan’s mighty export sector. The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo gained 1.1 percent to close at 9,015.59, its highest finish since Oct. 28.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng surged 1.5 percent to 21,018.46 while mainland China’s Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.4 percent to 2,347.53 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index gained 2.8 percent to 893.82.

Oil prices tracked equities higher — benchmark oil for March delivery was up 95 cents to $99.37 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures suggested a higher open on Wednesday after better-than-expected data out of China and Germany and as Greece inched closer to a debt deal, though recent market action suggested gains could be ephemeral.

Volatility was expected to persist, with low trading volume and uneven corporate earnings and weaker employment data adding to the mix.

Amazon could pressure the Nasdaq after a disappointing earnings report late Tuesday.

Gains in index futures eased after the ADP National Employment Report showed the pace of private sector job creation slowed more than expected in January after a sharp gain the month before.

China's factory sector expanded slightly in January, confounding expectations for a contraction and supporting hopes the world's second biggest economy will avoid a hard landing. Separately, Germany recorded its first rise in manufacturing output in seven months.

"The market is bullishly higher, given the strong data from China and Europe, ADP may have tempered some enthusiasm and set up some trepidation for what Friday's payroll report might hold," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia. "There is brinksmanship between the optimism and a reserved posture for the labor market."

S&P 500 futures rose 8.5 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 89 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 10.75 points.

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said talks between Greece and its private creditors were "one formal step away" from a deal needed to avoid a messy default.

Banks continued a trend of rallying on signs of euro zone progress. U.S.-traded shares Deutsche Bank (DB.N) climbed 3 percent to $43.95 while Citigroup Inc (C.N) rose 1.2 percent to $31.10 before the bell.

The FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) index of top European shares rose 1.3 percent while an index of European banks (.SX7P) advanced 2.8 percent. (.EU)

Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) slumped 9.4 percent to $176.25 in premarket trading a day after warning of a possible first-quarter loss and posting a steep drop in fourth-quarter profit.

Earnings continue to be a mixed bag. According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 204 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results so far, 59.8 percent topped estimates, tracking below the beat rate at this stage of the earnings season in recent quarters.

Aetna Inc (AET.N) posted sharply higher quarterly profit in line with Wall Street's target early Wednesday.

Whirlpool Corp (WHR.N) reported a drop in sales on weak global demand but gave an optimistic full-year outlook, sending shares up 7.5 percent to $58.40 before the bell. Also, Marathon Oil Corp (MRO.N) swung to a fourth-quarter loss.

Facebook is expected to submit paperwork to regulators Wednesday morning for a $5 billion initial public offering and selected Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and four other bookrunners to handle the mega-IPO, sources said told Reuters unit IFR.

The January ISM manufacturing report will be released at 10 a.m. EST, and is seen rising at 54.5 from 53.1 in December.

Wall Street closed its best month since October on a flat note on Tuesday, pressured by weaker-than-expected economic reports, including on consumer confidence and home prices, pressured sentiment.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

NEW YORK – U.S. stock futures are rising on improving U.S. economic indicators and the approval in Italy of an austerity plan intended to get the country’s finances under control.

Dow Jones industrial futures are up 0.6 percent at 11,895. The broader S&P 500 futures are up 0.8 percent at 1,221. Nasdaq composite futures are up 0.8 percent at 2,240.25.

Investor sentiment rose after the U.S. government reported on Thursday that the number of people applying for unemployment benefits dropped sharply last week. Positive manufacturing reports also helped.

Futures changed little on Friday after the U.S. government issued a report showing consumer prices stayed flat in November.

In Italy, the lower house of parliament approved a $39 billion austerity package aimed at persuading bond markets that the country can emerge from the widening European debt crisis is expected to pass. The country now sits on a 1.9 trillion euro ($2.5 trillion) powder keg of debt that could spark a global economic recession if a default occurs.

European shares rose in early trading, following gains in Asia. Britain’s FTSE added 0.6 percent to 5,435 and Germany’s DAX inched up 0.1 percent to 5,736.52.

France’s CAC-40 rose 0.1 percent to 3,001.64 despite a report from the national statistics agency predicting a recession in the country over this quarter and the next.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was 0.3 percent higher to close at 8,401.72. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.2 percent to 1,839.96 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 1.4 percent to 18,285.39. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia also rose.

Mainland China shares ended a six-session losing streak, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gaining 2 percent to close at 2,224.84.

Benchmark oil for January delivery was up 26 cents to $94.13 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.08 to finish at $93.87 per barrel on Nymex on Thursday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks jumped about 3 percent on Monday on hopes that fresh proposals may emerge out of Europe to help solve the region's debt crisis.

The rally spread across the board, with all but one issue on the S&P 500 index higher.

Retail stocks were among the top gainers after a trade group said U.S. retailers racked up a record $52.4 billion in sales over the Thanksgiving weekend, a 16.4 percent jump from a year ago.

Efforts heated up on several fronts to ease Europe's sovereign debt crisis. Germany and France stepped up a drive to acquire powers to reject national budgets in the euro zone that breach European Union rules ahead of an EU summit on December 9.

"The mood has changed over the weekend on hopes for progress toward a lasting resolution to the building debt crisis," said Andrew Wilkinson, chief economic strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

"Investors seem happy enough to take risks despite the fact that little has been substantiated this morning."

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) jumped 321.96 points, or 2.87 percent, at 11,553.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) put on 37.82 points, or 3.26 percent, at 1,196.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) rose 88.07 points, or 3.61 percent, at 2,529.58.

Sentiment was also boosted after an Italian newspaper report suggested the International Monetary Fund was preparing a rescue plan for Italy worth up to 600 billion euros. The IMF denied the report.

Best Buy Co Inc (BBY.N) rose 3.8 percent to $26.61 and Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) was up 1 percent to $57.50.

Materials stocks were advanced on the back of higher commodities prices. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc (FCX.N) jumped 7 percent to $36.14, and Alcoa Inc (AA.N) rose 5.6 percent to $9.45.

But some analysts saw any gains as a technical rebound as Wall Street came off its worst week in two months.

"An oversold trading opportunity is likely pending this week, given short-term indicators are increasingly oversold, but the longer-term technical background is increasingly at risk," said Robert Sluymer, analyst at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street posted its third straight week of gains on Friday, lifted by optimism ahead of this weekend's summit of European leaders and strong earnings from blue-chip stocks.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 267.62 points, or 2.32 percent, at 11,809.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was up 22.98 points, or 1.89 percent, at 1,238.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 38.84 points, or 1.49 percent, at 2,637.46.

For the week, the Dow was up 1.3 percent, the S&P 500 was up 1.1 percent and the Nasdaq was down 1.1 percent.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as Europe's progress toward bolstering its financial rescue fund brought more battle-weary investors back into the market.

Momentum buying was partly in play, analysts said, as investors tried to latch on, or catch up with, what they hoped was a lasting rally, which has been a rare trend this year.

The S&P 500 is up about 12 percent from its intraday low hit last week on Tuesday and had its largest seven-day rally since March 2009. The Dow briefly bounced back into positive territory for the year.

"A lot of the people who have cash and who have been afraid of some of these big, macro risks are thinking: Maybe we should get back in because this has been a rough year, and it would be really rough if we missed a big fourth quarter," said Hank Smith, chief investment officer of Haverford Trust Co. in Philadelphia.

Bank shares led the advance again, with the KBW Bank Index (.BKX) up 3.3 percent. Citigroup (C.N) gained 5 percent to $29.22.

The Dow Jones Transportation Average (.DJT) rose 1.3 percent.

Worries that the euro-zone debt crisis could tip the global economy into another recession have pressured stocks in recent months.

Slovak lawmakers struck a deal to ratify more powers for the euro zone's rescue fund, known as the EFSF, effectively ending a crisis that had threatened the euro's survival and has weighed on stocks and other risky assets for months.

Slovakia is the last country in the 17-member currency zone left to approve the revamped EFSF.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose 102.55 points, or 0.90 percent, to end at 11,518.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) gained 11.71 points, or 0.98 percent, to 1,207.25. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) shot up 21.70 points, or 0.84 percent, to close at 2,604.73.

The S&P 500 traded above 1,200 for the first time in three weeks, taking the benchmark near the upper end of a range it has been stuck at since early August.

A sustained break above resistance at 1,215 would be seen as a bullish signal, analysts said.

On the earnings front, PepsiCo Inc (PEP.N) rose 2.9 percent to $62.70 after it reported slightly better-than-expected earnings and affirmed its full-year target. But Alcoa Inc (AA.N) fell 2.4 percent to $10.05 and ranked as one of the biggest drags on the Dow, a day after reporting results.

While Alcoa's results marked the start of the third-quarter earnings period, they often don't reflect what the quarter will look like, analysts said.

"We're going to be looking very closely at the earnings from industrials and materials because the two sectors really had bear markets in the third quarter," Smith said.

The S&P materials index (.GSPM) fell 25 percent in the third quarter.

About 8.5 billion shares were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq for the day, above the year's daily average so far of about 8.0 billion.

Advancing stocks outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a ratio of 4 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, advancers beat decliners by about 3 to 1.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks rose on Monday as sentiment swung toward hope that European officials would find a way to cut Greece's debt and shore up European banks.

Shares rallied to session highs in the afternoon after a report said a plan to leverage money from the European Financial Stability Facility was in the works.

Investors were reluctant to make long-term commitments because of conflicting reports about whether or not European officials were preparing to take bold new action to solve the crisis.

"Given how markets have behaved over the past two months, people are interested in the vaguest of rumors because any kind of action being taken would be well-received," said Michael Church, president of Addison Capital in Yardley, Pennsylvania.

Markets have been highly sensitive to European efforts to cauterize the euro zone's credit crisis that has Greece teetering near a default. Last week, the Dow had its biggest weekly loss since October 2008 in the depths of the financial crisis, while the S&P 500 shed 6.6 percent for the week.

Financial shares ranked among the session's best performers, with the KBW Bank Index (.BKX) up 5.3 percent. Dow component JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) advanced 7 percent to $31.65 while Citigroup Inc (C.N) gained 7 percent to $26.72.

However, the Nasdaq's gains were limited after a report on Apple suggested the tech company was cutting back on some key orders.

Talk of plans for a 50 percent write-down in Greek debt and improvements in the euro-zone rescue fund buoyed the market, although European officials called the talk premature. A CNBC report cited a top European official, who said the plans involved using leverage and the European Investment Bank to buy sovereign debt to save European banks.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) shot up 272.38 points, or 2.53 percent, to end at 11,043.86. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) jumped 26.52 points, or 2.33 percent, to finish at 1,162.95. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) climbed 33.46 points, or 1.35 percent, to close at 2,516.69.

The CBOE Market Volatility index (.VIX) fell 5.4 percent but remains more than 20 percent higher for the month.

"These confidence issues make it hard to move forward and will result in more volatility ahead," said Mark Foster, who helps manage $500 million at Kirr Marbach & Co in Columbus, Indiana.

Apple slipped 0.3 percent to $403.17 after an analyst said the iPhone maker was cutting orders from suppliers of parts for its iPad tablet. The tech bellwether fell as much as 3.2 percent earlier in the session.

"If things slow down on the tablet side, that means that perhaps Apple isn't immune from the economic slowdown after all," Foster said.

On the upside, Boeing Co (BA.N) gave a major lift to the Dow a day after the manufacturer delivered its long-awaited Dreamliner jet to its first airline customer. The stock rose 4.2 percent to $62.01.

Warren Buffett's conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N)(BRKb.N), will launch a share-buyback program, an unprecedented move from Buffett that comes after months of investor complaints that the stock was undervalued.

Shares of Berkshire Hathaway's more actively traded Class B stock soared 8.6 percent to $72.09.

In economic news, sales of new single-family home sales fell in August to a six-month low in another sign the U.S. economy is flagging.

About 8.75 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, above last year's daily average of 8.47 billion.

About 11 stocks rose for every four that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, while about 62 percent of Nasdaq issues rose.

(Reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Jan Paschal)

BANGALORE (Reuters) – Toronto's main stock index looked set to open higher, rebounding from previous session's sell-off, as hopes for an imminent end to the conflict in OPEC-member Libya signal a rally by Canadian energy shares.

FACTORS TO WATCH

Canadian equity futures pointed to a higher open.

U.S. stock index futures were higher following four weeks of equity losses as stocks rebounded globally, led by defensive shares.

Investors flocked to beaten down oil stocks, helping lift Europe's leading shares after a sharp retreat the previous week, while gold issues drew interest amid lingering worries about global growth.

Asian markets were lower with the Nikkei marking its weakest close since March 15 as worries about the U.S. economy offset signs that the Japanese authorities stand ready to quell any further yen strength.

COMMODITY PRICE MOVES

The Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, rose 0.38 percent in early trade.

U.S. crude oil futures rose more than $1 a barrel as the dollar eased against a basket of currencies and as stock markets rose on hopes for a swift end to the conflict in Libya.

Gold prices rallied toward $1,900 an ounce as concerns over the global economic outlook fueled interest in the precious metal as a haven from risk and due to talk that weak U.S. growth could spark a further round of monetary easing.

Copper dipped as growing concerns about a slowdown in the United States and the European debt crisis raised fears about the outlook for global growth and demand for metals, although a weak dollar capped the retreat.

CANADIAN STOCKS TO WATCH

Endeavour Mining Corp: The gold miner agreed to buy Australia's Adamus Resources in a deal valued at about C$313.4 million, to create a West Africa-focused gold producer.

Mercator Minerals: The mining company said it has modified a shareholder rights plan to bring it in line with current standards recommended by proxy advisory firm ISS.

ANALYST RECOMMENDATIONS

Following is a summary of research actions on Canadian companies reported by Reuters.

* Altus Group price target cut to C$4 from C$9 at CIBC

* Centric Health coverage started with outperform rating; price target of C$3 at National Bank

($1= $0.98 Canadian)

(Reporting by Anil Kumar)

Stocks are falling again on more fears of economic weakness in the U.S. and Europe’s debt crisis.

European leaders are calling emergency meetings and seeking to contain spreading fears that a large nation such as Italy or Spain might default on its debt.

A government report that hiring improved in July sent stocks sharply higher just after the market opened. The rally lasted less than a half-hour.

A half-hour after trading stared the Dow Jones industrial average is down or 42 points, or 0.4 percent, at 11,341. The S&P 500 is down 9 points, or 0.8 percent, at 1,190. The Nasdaq composite is down 37, or 1.5 percent, at 2,520

The Dow fell 513 points on Thursday in the worst sell-off since 2008.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks ended higher on Thursday as signs of progress on the U.S. debt talks and concrete action from Europe on its own debt crisis heartened investors.

Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) rose 153.64 points, or 1.22 percent, to end unofficially at 12,725.55. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (.SPX) was up 18.00 points, or 1.36 percent, at 1,343.84. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was up 20.20 points, or 0.72 percent, at 2,834.43.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Leslie Adler)