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() - The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a slightly higher opening on Friday, with sentiment likely to alternate between hope and despair. Greece has finally thrown in the towel and has sought the rescue package extended by the European Union and the IMF. The euro is continuing to see weakness amid the development, sending the dollar higher and commodities lower. Meanwhile, a report released earlier in the day showed that durable goods orders unexpectedly fell in March, weighed down by weakness in transportation orders.

However, excluding transportation orders, order growth remained fairly strong. The new home sales report to be released later in the day may also impact market movement. New home sales are likely to show an increase following recent weakness, in line with the sentiment relayed by existing home sales.

U.S. stocks opened Thursday’s session notably lower amid nervousness about a deterioration in Greece’s fiscal situation even as the Mediterranean nation is holding talks with the European Union and the IMF for a possible financial assistance. However, with earnings and economic data remaining supportive, the weakness waned over the course of the session. The major averages bounced well off their worst levels of the day, climbing above the unchanged line in late trading to close modestly to moderately higher.

The Dow Industrials ended the session up 9.37 points or 0.08% at 11,134 and the S&P 500 Index rose 2.74 points or 0.23% to end at 1,209. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index showed a more notable advance, climbing by 14.46 points or 0.58% to 2,519.

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