* Crude oil, gold rally as euro zone fears ease
* GM to begin trading after historic IPO
* Jobless claims due, expected to rise
* Futures up: Dow 91 pts, S&P 11.9 pts, Nasdaq 27 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Adds quote, updates prices)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
followed global markets sharply higher on Thursday on
expectations Ireland will get a giant loan to ease its debt
crisis.
Ireland's central bank chief said he expected the country
to receive tens of billions of euros in loans from European
partners and the International Monetary Fund to help shore up
its shattered banks and stabilize the economy. For details, see
[]
U.S.-listed shares of Bank of Ireland <IRE.N> climbed 7.9
percent in premarket trading, while the FTSEurofirst 300
<> index of top European shares was up 1.2 percent.
Concerns over European sovereign debt woes have weighed on
equities in recent sessions, with the S&P 500 down nearly 4
percent since Nov. 5.
"It seems that Europe will come to the aid of the banks
that hold Irish paper. That's giving Europe a good day. We're
bouncing higher on that," said John Brady, senior vice
president at MF Global in Chicago.
Brady said there were still countries in the euro zone that
had sovereign debt issues, and that "once the euphoria about
Ireland fades we'll be talking about places where there is no
euphoria to get excited about."
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> rose 11.9 points and were above fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> added 91
points, and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> rose 27 points.
The U.S. dollar fell 0.7 percent as investors, while crude
oil futures gained 1.5 percent and gold climbed about 1
percent.
Adding to the positive sentiment, General Motors Co []
completed the biggest initial public offering in U.S. history
on Wednesday, raising $20.1 billion after pricing shares at the
top of its range on huge investor demand.
GM will start trading on Thursday, and MF Global's Brady
said if the shares don't rise as much as expected, it could
have a negative short-term psychological impact.
Weekly jobless claims data will be reported at 8:30 a.m.
EST []. About 440,000 claims are expected, up from the
435,000 posted in the previous week. The October leading index
change and the Philadelphia Fed business index for November are
also due.
Sears Holding Corp's <SHLD.O> quarterly loss widened as
sales fell, while office supplies chain Staples Inc <SPLS.O>
said quarterly earnings and sales rose modestly.
[] and []
Dell Inc <DELL.O>, Gap Inc <GPS.N>, Ross Stores Inc
<ROST.O> and Intuit Inc <INTU.O> are also due to report.
In deal news, semiconductor equipment maker Verigy Ltd
<VRGY.O> plans to buy smaller peer LTX-Credence Corp <LTXC.O>
for about $422 million, while Walter Energy <WLT.N> said it was
in talks to buy Western Coal <WTN.TO> for $3.24 billion.
[] and []
LTX-Credence closed Wednesday at $5.98, while Walter fell 5
percent to $90 in premarket trading. []
U.S. stocks ended flat on Wednesday as a late-day selloff
in banks offset positive news from retailers.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
