Stock futures rise on Europe deal; S&P set for gain

By Angela Moon

S&P 500 futures rose 27 points and were far above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. The S&P futures indicated a rise of 2.4 percent at the open.

Dow Jones industrial average futures soared 202 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 48.5 points.

European shares advanced 3.3 percent to hit a 12-week high after the Europe deal, led by banking shares.

"The market likes what it hears and believes it is enough to 'hold the line' against contagion," said Clem Chambers, chief executive of London-based financial information website ADVFN.com.

"There remains much to do, but at least the market believes enough in the prospects of recovery to treat the situation as 'business as usual.'"

Also on investors' agenda will be third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product, coming at 8:30 a.m. EDT. A Reuters survey of economists forecast a 2.5 percent annual pace of growth, compared with a 1.3 percent annual rate in the second quarter.

Other macroeconomic data coming Thursday include weekly jobless claims and the Chicago Fed Midwest Manufacturing Index for September also at 8:30 a.m. EDT.

September U.S. pending home sales come at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) and are seen rising 0.1 percent from a fall of 1.2 percent in the previous reading.

In an early report, Exxon Mobil Corp <XOM.N> said profit rose 41 percent in the third quarter, helped by gains in crude oil prices and higher refining margins.

Dow Chemical Co <DOW.N> narrowly missed quarterly profit expectations as cost increases dented demand in Europe and North America. The stock was up 4.1 percent at $28.00.

In corporate news, Research in Motion Ltd <RIM.TO> <RIMM.O> has been sued by BlackBerry users in the United States and Canada for service outages that hit devices earlier this month.

American International Group Inc <AIG.N> plans to sell about half its stake in AIA Group Ltd <1299.HK>, the Asian life insurer it took public last year, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)