Indications: U.S. stock futures rise after durable-goods data

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By Polya Lesova and Kate Gibson, MarketWatch

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) â€" U.S. stock futures pointed to strong opening gains on Friday after the government reported that orders for U.S.-made durable goods fell less than expected in August.

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“The better-than-expected data is great to see and hopefully an extension of businesses using healthier balance sheets to invest,” said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average /quotes/comstock/19*!dy10z (DJZ10 10,605, -69.00, -0.65%)  gained 107 points to 10,713.00 and S&P 500 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f1:sp\z10 (SPZ10 1,133, +12.70, +1.13%)  added 12.4 points to 1,132.8.

Nasdaq 100 futures /quotes/comstock/21m!f:nd\z10 (NDZ10 2,006, +24.50, +1.24%)  rose 23.75 points to 2,005.25.

The blue-chip Dow index /quotes/comstock/10w!i:dji/delayed (DJIA 10,662, -76.89, -0.72%)  dropped 0.7% on Thursday, but it still remains up 6.5% so far this month.

August new-home sales are still to come at 10 a.m. Eastern.

Investors are also awaiting speeches from Federal Reserve officials. This morning, Christine Cumming, first vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, will speak at a banking conference in Chicago.

After markets close, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a speech on the implications of the financial crisis, starting at 4:30 p.m. Eastern.

In Germany, the Ifo index, a closely watched gauge of business sentiment, unexpectedly rose in September, data showed on Friday, easing near-term worries over a possible growth slowdown in Europe’s biggest economy. See story on German Ifo data

The Stoxx Europe 600 index /quotes/comstock/22c!sxxp (ST:SXXP 262.62, +1.55, +0.59%)  gained 0.7% in afternoon trading, reversing losses after the durable-goods data. Read Europe Markets report

On the corporate front, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!amd/quotes/nls/amd (AMD 6.40, +0.14, +2.24%)  will be in focus after the company lowered its forecast for third-quarter sales.

Shares of Nike Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!nke/quotes/nls/nke (NKE 77.67, +0.36, +0.47%)  gained 6% in premarket trading after the sportswear firm reported growth in quarterly profit and sales. In German trading, rival Adidas AG /quotes/comstock/11e!fads (DE:ADS 45.51, +1.95, +4.47%)  rose 4%.

Gold for December delivery rose to an intraday high of $1,301.30 an ounce in electronic trading on Globex, extending its record-breaking run. See story on gold’s record run

The greenback, meanwhile, fell against other major currencies. The dollar index /quotes/comstock/11j!i:dxy0 (DXY 79.44, -0.57, -0.71%)  dropped 0.7% to 79.488.

Polya Lesova is reporter for MarketWatch, based in Frankfurt. Kate Gibson is a reporter for MarketWatch, based in New York.

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