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Wall Street poised to open higher after Greek debt deal

Last updated: 01:05 14 Jul 2015 AEST, First published: 23:05 13 Jul 2015 AEST

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Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) climbed 1.3 percent after Piper Jaffray initiated coverage of the maker of fitness-tracker bracelets with an overweight rating, similar to a buy.

U.S. stock-index futures advanced after Greece reached an agreement with its creditors to avert bankruptcy.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.7 percent to 17,795, while those for the S&P 500 index picked up 0.7 percent to 2,084. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index added 0.8 percent to 4,445.

Greece won conditional agreement to receive a possible $95 billion over three years, along with an assurance that euro zone finance ministers would start discussing ways to bridge a funding gap until a bailout - subject to parliamentary approvals - is finally ready.

That will only happen if Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras can meet a tight timetable for enacting unpopular reforms of value added tax, pensions and quasi-automatic budget cuts.

On Friday, U.S. stocks ended higher amid optimism about a Greek deal. The Dow rose 1.2 percent to 17,760.41 and notched a weekly gain, ending a two-week losing streak.

OTHER MARKETS:

European stocks advanced on the heels of the Greek deal. Germany’s DAX rose 1.3 percent and France’s CAC-40 gained 1.8 percent.

Chinese stocks led Asian markets higher, although shares of many firms were still halted for trade on the back of the sharp selloff in recent weeks. The Shanghai Composite Index ended up 2.4 percent at 3,971.14. The index has gained 13.2 percent since Wednesday’s close, the start of a three-day rally, though remains down 23.2 percent from its high reached in June.

MOVERS:

Fitbit (NYSE:FIT) climbed 1.3 percent after Piper Jaffray initiated coverage of the maker of fitness-tracker bracelets with an overweight rating, similar to a buy.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) rose 1.3 percent a day after the energy company said it would buy natural gas utility company SourceGas Holdings for about $1.9 billion.

Ascena Retail Group (NASDAQ:ASNA) dropped 11 percent after the retailer late Friday cut its full-year earnings outlook, pointing to weaker-than-expected sales at its stores. 

Ingersoll-Rand (NYSE:IR) climbed 1.4 percent after Stifel Nicolaus lifted the industrials company to buy from hold. 

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) and Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI) could be active after they agreed to extend the Justice Department’s antitrust review period of their $35 billion merger until at least Nov. 25. 

COMMODITIES:

Spot gold was down 0.6 percent at $1,156.06 an ounce, after posting three straight weekly declines. U.S. gold for August delivery fell 0.2 percent to 1,155.30 an ounce.

Crude-oil futures lost 0.8 percent to $52.29 a barrel.


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