9:05am (EST)
Futures were pointing towards a slightly higher open this morning, helped by optimism over a bailout package for Greece. The euro-zone nations agreed over the weekend to lend Greece 30 billion euro ($40 billion) though Greece still has to “ask” for the money for the plan to be activated.
The International Monetary Fund would contribute another 10 billion euro ($13.5 billion) if needed and the loans would carry interest rates below what private lenders had been demanding in recent days to hold Greek debt.
Of course, the main focus this week will be on earnings, which kicks off with Alcoa (AA, $14.39, down $0.48) after the close of trading today. Reports on inflation, retail sales, manufacturing and housing will also be released throughout the week..
A couple of stocks making a move before the bell: Palm (PALM, $5.16, up $0.51), which has reportedly put itself up for sale and is seeking bids as soon as this week, is up 45 cents to $5.61 while Boots & Coots (WEL, $2.35, down $0.03) is getting some action after Halliburton (HAL, $31.57, down $0.09) said it will buy the company for $3 a share, or $1.73 in cash and the rest in Halliburton stock.
As we head towards the start of trading, Dow futures are down 4 points to 10,943 while the S&P 500 futures have edged lower by 2 points to 1,191. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq 100 futures are off by a point to 1,991. Futures were positive earlier this morning and have come down from those levels but we still think the market heads higher today.
We have a lot to cover this morning in our Members Area so let’s get to it.
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