U.S. stock futures indicated a second day of strong gains Thursday with bulls cautiously optimistic that the bear market, economic and financial crisis have bottomed. S&P futures gained 15.9 points to 825.10 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 25.5 points to 1,276.5. Dow industrial futures rose 123 points. U.S. stocks surged on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing more than 150 points higher as investors chose to focus on the bright side of manufacturing data and auto-sales reports and ignored a worrisome labor-market survey. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 13.21 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 23.01 points. Those who are bullish on stocks see signs that the bear market has reached a low, supported by the fact that a measure of pending-home sales ticked up in February, and the manufacturing survey showed improvement in March from February. "We have more and more evidence that the economy is heading for some stabilization and we see some leading indicators that show that the bottom could be near," said Gerhard Schwarz, head of global equity strategy at UniCredit Markets & Investment Banking. Simon Denham, managing director of Capital Spreads, said if the Dow can break above 7,920 or even better, 8,000 "confidence would take a real shot in the arm." But he said traders should "keep their running shoes close as any disappointment over the G20 communiqué may spill over into a sharp move lower." The G20 meeting officially kicked off in London on Wednesday evening, with President Barack Obama saying that disputes over government spending plans and efforts to overhaul financial regulations won't stand in the way of significant action as world leaders attempt to address the deepest global economic downturn since World War II. Press reports citing leaks suggested the resources of the International Monetary Fund may be tripled to $750 billion. "The main G20 impact on currencies however comes from news that the G20 leaders were preparing a major expansion in resources available through the IMF, possibly including a tripling of its war chest to $750 billion," the analysts said in a research note. The euro was firmer versus the dollar, while gold futures were down $9.30 an ounce. Oil futures were up over $2.44 a barrel after falling Wednesday on higher inventories and economic worries. Economic data on tap for Thursday includes jobless claims and February factory orders, while bigger data looms Friday, including with non-farm payrolls for March. The European Central Bank meanwhile is expected to cut interest rates to 1% from 1.5%. Companies due to report earnings include Monsanto , Rite Aid Corp., and after the close, Research in Motion and Micron . Shares of MGM Mirage were up nearly 18% in preopen. The Wall Street Journal reported the casino operator may get a much-needed capital infusion from Colony Capital LLC as it considers investing in the ailing $8.6 billion CityCenter complex under construction in Las Vegas. Meanwhile, the $112.5 million spin-off of a popular Chinese gaming Web site is expected to score big wins with investors when it debuts on the U.S. stock market Thursday. Changyou.co, part of Sohu.com is expected to sell 7.5 million American depositary shares in a range of $14 to $16 each. "It is multiple times oversubscribed to a very strong institutional and retail book," said Scott Sweet, senior managing partner at advisory firm IPOBoutique.com. He predicted pricing would come in at the high end of the range and could even top it. European stocks were in rally mode, with beaten down banks like HSBC Holdings and oil producers up sharply. HSBC was up over 10% in preopen trade. In London, the FTSE 100 was back above the 4,000 perch, while the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index climbed 3.8% ahead of an interest rate decision by the European Central Bank. Asia stocks rallied as well, as the Hang Seng rallied 7.2% and the Nikkei 225 rose 4.4%.

Source