US Stock Futures Point To Gains In Regular Trading

US stock index futures inched higher today with equities tracking gains in the overseas market, where concerns over Greece eased. While futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average moved up 17 points at 10901, those on the S&P 500 futures gained 2.6 points to 1186.3. Meanwhile, Nasdaq 100 futures inched up five points to 1985.

Investors are awaiting a Commerce Department report that may show a rise in inventories at wholesalers in February for the first time in three months. According to the median forecast of 35 economists in a Bloomberg survey, inventories may rise 0.4%.

Shares of Schlumberger Ltd, the largest oilfield contractor in the world, moved up along with a rise in oil prices. Meanwhile, Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC) and Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) rose along with European banks on speculations of an imminent bailout for Greece. Bank stocks may continue to be in focus today, following a report by The Wall Street Journal on 18 firms, including C, Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) and JP Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). The report indicated that these companies hid the level of risk taken by them over the past five quarters by reducing their debt levels just before reporting the figures.

Overseas, European shares moved up, with the German DAX 30 index adding 0.8%. The focus of investors today shifted to the increasing evidence of growing US consumption. Most of the Asian stock markets also traded higher, with Japan's Nikkei 225 Average rising 0.3%.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.