Stock Futures Rise on Central Bank Stimulus Talk

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were holding gains Friday as investors largely shrugged off a weaker-than-expected read on New York manufacturing activity as they cheered reports that the central banks of the world's biggest economies would stage a coordinated response to calm the markets should the outcome of Greece's general elections cause panic.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 27 points, or 55.1 points above fair value, at 12,633. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 1.3 points, or 5 points above fair value, at 1328, and futures for the Nasdaq 100 were up 5.8 points, or 6.6 points above fair value, at 2540.

U.S. stocks jumped Thursday on rising hopes that additional stimulus is on the way from the Federal Reserve following a disappointing initial jobless claims number, and following a report by Reuters that G20 central banks are planning for coordinated action to bring liquidity if needed after the Greek elections on Sunday.

"The ECB has the crucial role of providing liquidity to sound bank counterparties in return for adequate collateral," said European Central Bank President Mario Draghi as he joined other central bankers of major economies who asserted they would take steps toward coordinated efforts if chaos ensued in the aftermath of the Greek elections.

"This is what we have done throughout the crisis ... and this is what we will continue to do," he said.

The FTSE in London was rising 0.5% and the DAX in Germany was up 1%. The Hong Kong Hang Seng closed ahead by 2.3% and the Japan Nikkei Average finished flat.

July crude oil futures were up 48 cents at $84.39 a barrel. August gold futures were up $5.10 to $1,624.70 an ounce.

The Federal Reserve Bank New York reported Friday that its Empire State Manufacturing Index showed a much steeper-than-expected decline to 2.29 in June, the lowest level going back to last November, from 17.1 in May. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected a fall to 10.