Before the bell: Markets expecting Greek bailout

Though a second bailout for Greece has yet to be confirmed as Athens grapples with the thorny issue of pension reform, European stocks are on the climb Thursday morning.

In order to secure the necessary bailout funds from the so-called troika -- the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank, and European Commission -- Greece must cut pensions as it faces a €300 billion shortfall in its savings commitments.

London's FTSE 100 opened with a 0.2 per cent rise, Frankfurt's DAX gained 0.5 per cent, and Paris's CAC-40 saw a 0.4 per cent increase. The euro currency is presently trading at US$1.3299.

In Asia, caution prevails due to the Greek debt situation which in-turn produced mixed markets. Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.15 per cent to 9,002.24 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 0.04 per cent to 21,010.01. Shanghai's A index rose 0.09 per cent to 2,349.59 while Taiwan's Taiex Index rose 0.52 per cent to 7,910.78. Seoul's Kospi Index was up 0.54 per cent to 2,014.62 while Singapore's Straits Times Index shed 0.16 per cent to 2,977.31.

Meanwhile on Wall Street, U.S. futures are pointing to a lower open ahead of key economic data. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were 13 points lower at 12830. S&P 500 futures slipped 2.2 points to 1344.8, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 4 points to 2540.7. Investors will be eyeing the U.S. Labor Department's weekly jobless claims report due later this morning.

Here at home, Canada's benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 8.61 points to 12,521.02 while the TSX Venture Exchange was up 2.41 points to 1,665.74 at closing on Wednesday. The Canadian dollar is trading at 100.39¢ US.