Stocks head for higher open on rising oil prices

U.S. futures were higher as traders took in strong earnings from financial heavyweights including Bank of America and Morgan Stanley while photography pioneer Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The Dow Jones industrial futures gained 43 points to 12,547, the Nasdaq futures were up 10 points to 2,430.5 and the S&P 500 futures rose 5.2 points to 1,307.4.

Morgan Stanley lost US$275 million or 15 cents a share in the fourth quarter on a settlement with the bond insurer MBIA, but the investment bank’s loss was less than the 43-cent loss Wall Street was expecting. The bank reported a profit of $600 million in the same period a year ago. Its shares were up 4.73% in pre-market trading.

Bank of America shares were up 7.35% in pre-market trading as it made $2 billion in the last three months of 2011 from selling its stake in a Chinese bank and selling debt. That offset losses and higher legal expenses in its mortgage business.

Kodak announced Thursday it will now reorganize in bankruptcy court as it seeks to boost its cash position and stay in business. The Rochester, N.Y.-based company is pinning its hopes on peddling a trove of photo patents and morphing into a new-look powerhouse built around printers and ink.

The 132-year old company has suffered a stunning reversal of fortune: cutthroat competition from Japanese firms in the 1980s and a seismic shift to the digital technology it pioneered but couldn’t capitalize on.

Oil rose moved towards US$102 a barrel after The International Monetary Fund estimated countries around the world would need about $1 trillion in loans over the coming years. Markets rose sharply Wednesday after the IMF said it aimed to increase its financial firepower by around $500 billion so it can give out new loans.

The IMF has put up about a third of the financing for Europe’s bailouts over the past two years, but there are growing worries that non-European countries will also need more help given the worsening economic outlook.

The February crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.17 to US$101.76 a barrel.

Other commodities were also higher with March copper up five cents to US$3.81 a pound. The metal, viewed as an economic barometer since it is used in so many businesses, is up more than 10 cents this week following stronger than expected fourth quarter growth in China. China is the world’s biggest copper consumer.

February bullion in New York was up $3.80 to US$1,663.70 an ounce.

Meanwhile, investors awaited developments in Greece’s debt-reduction talks with private creditors.

Greece needs to clinch the agreement quickly to qualify for more bailout loans before it faces a major bond repayment on March 20. Without the money, the country would find it difficult to service its debts and be forced to default, potentially triggering more turmoil in global markets.

European bourses were higher with London’s FTSE 100 index ahead 0.68%, Frankfurt’s DAX ran up 0.75% while the Paris CAC 40 rose 1.26%.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose one per cent, South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.2% while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.3%.

In other corporate news, Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. (TSX:IVN) said Wednesday it’s scrapping its shareholder rights plan and that global miner Rio Tinto PLC is free to increase its stake in the company above the current 49% if it chooses to. Ivanhoe owns 66% of Oyu Tolgoi project in Mongolia, one of the biggest copper developments in the world, while the Mongolian government owns 34%.

Scotiabank (TSX:BNS) is in the early stages of hunting for buyers interested in its skyscraper headquarters in downtown Toronto. The second-tallest tower in the country will hit the auction block soon, with the bank hoping to fetch $1-billion for it. That would make it the biggest commercial real estate deal in Canadian history.