U.S. Stock Futures Rise on Greek Austerity

U.S. stock futures rose, after the first weekly loss for the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index in 2012, as Greece approved austerity plans to secure rescue funds.

Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. (C) climbed more than 2.1 percent as a measure of European lenders gained.

Alcoa Inc. and Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) added at least 1.3 percent as the S&P GSCI Index of commodities increased 0.9 percent.

Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) advanced 2.5 percent after the maker of graphics processors was raised at FBR Capital Markets.

S&P 500 futures expiring in March added 0.7 percent to 1,350 at 8:15 a.m. New York time. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 85 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,852.

“We still think you should buy stocks,” Laszlo Birinyi, the president of Birinyi Associates Inc. in Westport, Connecticut.

“It’s a continuation of the bull market and we’re encouraged by what we are seeing in Europe.

I look at the markets, I find they are strong. There’s real buying going on. This is not short- covering or a temporary or transitory thing.”

From: Bloomberg