NEW YORK (AP) — US stock futures are higher as hopes grow that a plan to tackle the European debt crisis will survive.
More than an hour before the opening bell Thursday, Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 63 points, or 0.5 percent, at 11,832. S&P 500 index futures are up 7 points, or 0.5 percent, at 1,240. Nasdaq 100 futures are up 7, or 0.3 percent, at 2,322.
Greece’s prime minister surprised markets with a call this week to put a European rescue package to a vote. The prime minister was in an emergency meeting Thursday after members of his government called for him to step down. The hope is that a new government would approve the rescue package without a referendum.
Ahead of the market opening, the Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for first-time unemployment benefits last week. Applications are expected to slip but only slightly.
