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– The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a sharply higher opening on Friday, with sentiment getting a lift from the willingness shown by Germany and France, two of the largest European nations, to work together in finding a solution to the Greek debt crisis. Additionally, the political developments in Greece is viewed by the markets as a step in the direction of implementing austerity measures necessary to avail a second round of financing.

Although the developments are likely to give a near term lift to the market, fundamental concerns remain. Oil has come off its low, as the dollar pulled back against the euro and the pound. Even against the backdrop, markets may have to wary of the Dow Industrials holding support around 11,873 and its 200-day moving average of 11,726. A consumer sentiment report to be released shortly after the markets could also move the markets.

U.S. stocks closed Thursday’s session on a mixed note amid the release of some mixed economic data and the still-unresolved nature of the Greek debt crisis. The major averages opened little changed but rallied amid some volatility in the morning before gradually giving back their gains and dipping below the unchanged line in afternoon trading. The Dow Industrials and the S&P 500 Index recovered thereafter to close moderately higher, while the Nasdaq Composite closed lower.

The Dow Industrials ended up 64.25 points or 0.54 percent at 11,962 and the S&P 500 Index added 2.22 points or 0.18 percent before closing up at 1,268, while the Nasdaq Composite closed at 2,624, down 7.76 points or 0.29 percent.

Twenty-five of the thirty Dow components closed higher, with American Express (AXP), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Home Depot (HD) among the notable gainers. On the other hand, Alcoa (AA) slid 1.14 percent.

Among the sector indexes, the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index lost 2.45 percent, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index slid 1.15 percent and the NYSE Arca Internet Index fell about 1 percent.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department reported that housing starts rose 3.5 percent month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 560,000 in May from an upwardly revised reading of 541,000 for April. Starts of both single and multi-family categories rose. Building permits, an indicator of future starts, improved to 612,000, their highest level since December.

First time claims for unemployment benefits fell 16,000 to 414,000 in the week ended June 11th. Continuing claims, which are calculated with a week’s lag, fell 21,000 to 3.68 million in the week ended June 4th.

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