U.S. stock futures rose as Greece named Lucas Papademos its interim prime minister and American jobless claims fell to a seven-month low.
Former vice president of the European Central Bank Papademos will head a national unity government for Greece, according to the country’s presidency.
The ECB bought Italian government bonds today, according to three people familiar with the transactions, who declined to be identified.
Stock futures extended gains as data showed the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in seven months, a sign the recovery may be encouraging companies to limit cuts in headcount. Jobless claims fell by 10,000 to 390,000 in the week ended Nov. 5, Labor Department figures showed. The median forecast of economists was 400,000 new claims.
World markets: Nikkei -2.91%, Hang Seng -5.25%, Shanghai Composite -1.80%, FTSE +0.37%, CAC +0.62%, DAX +1.25%.
Crude oil: $97.31 (+1,6%).
Gold: $1773,00 (-1,0%).