Futures up sharply after recent losses

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures rose on Friday, suggesting a rebound from recent session losses, helped by a higher-than-expected profit forecast from IBM (IBM.N) and earnings from economic bellwether General Electric Co (GE.N).

Technical charts showed the market at its most oversold level since October 2002, on a weekly basis, which could help a rebound.

IBM, which reported after Thursday's close, gained in Europe after the world's largest computer services company forecast 2008 earnings well above Wall Street estimates. IBM shares in Frankfurt (IBM.F) were up 4.4 percent.

 

GE's earnings met expectations, helping to give an additional boost to stock futures.

"The numbers were good. But you're talking about a pebble in the ocean," said Rick Meckler, president of Libertyview Capital Management in Jersey City, New Jersey. "It certainly shows there are some people who are doing OK in this environment, certainly with a weaker dollar."

S&P 500 futures were up 16.10 points, well above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 114 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 22 points.

The bond market is expected to close early on Friday, and U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr.

Options expiration could add to stock market volatility.

Overseas, European stocks turned positive (.FTEU3) and Asian stocks ended higher.

As worries mount about the health of the U.S. economy, U.S. President George W. Bush will offer ideas on Friday for stimulus measures aimed at averting a recession.

On Thursday, U.S. stocks fell, with the benchmark S&P 500 plummeting to a 15-month low, as news of a plunge in regional factory activity and a hefty loss at Merrill Lynch (MER.N) further clouded an increasingly dire view of the economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) fell 2.46 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) was down 2.91 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) was down 1.99 percent.