Stocks set for higher open

LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stock futures rose Thursday as investors eyed solid results in the tech sector and awaited earnings from Wall Street firm Bear Stearns and a batch of economic readings.

At 4:30 a.m. ET, Nasdaq futures were stronger, boosted by solid results from Oracle. S&P futures also were narrowly higher, suggesting a positive open on Wall Street.

But if the past sessions are any indicator, optimism could easily evaporate. Stocks have gyrated recently on credit concerns. On Wednesday, the major gauges finished the session mixed after a volatile day of trading.

Investors are bracing for earnings from Bear Stearns (BSC, Fortune 500), which is slated to report its first ever quarterly loss before the market open. The results come a day after Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) announced an additional $5.7 billion writedown for the fourth quarter, bringing its losses on mortgage-related securities to $9.4 billion.

A slew of economic releases are due, including the government's final reading on third-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m. ET. A report on leading economic indicators comes after the market open, as does the Philadelphia Fed index, a regional manufacturing survey.

In global trade, Asian stocks finished mixed and European markets edged higher in morning trading.