Stocks ready to build on gains

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to rise at Friday's open, as momentum from the previous session's rally held up and oil prices rose.

At 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were higher.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins in New York.

U.S. stocks climbed Thursday after a government debt auction elicited solid demand, tempering fears that borrowing costs would rise. The major gauges all added about 1%.

Len Blum, managing director for Westwood Capital LLC, said there is still a lot of "fundamental weakness" in the economy, without much of a tangible reason to rally aside from investor eagerness.

"I don't see a lot of reason for the economy to rebound in any kind of dramatic way," said Blum. "[But ] no one wants to miss the rally, so investors are looking for a reason to be optimistic."

Economy: Trading on Wall Street has been volatile recently amid uncertainty about the economic outlook.

Investors will focus on reports on gross domestic product, regional manufacturing and consumer sentiment.

The government said first-quarter gross domestic product fell at an annual rate of 5.7%. This is close to expectations of a 5.5% annual rate drop in the first quarter, according to a consensus forecast from Briefing.com. The initial reading last month put the annual rate of decline at 6.1%.

Companies: After U.S. markets closed Thursday, Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) reported a drop in sales and earnings. The company said a slowdown in PC sales pressured its bottom line.

Activist investor William Ackman's quest to overhaul the board of Target (TGT, Fortune 500) fell flat at the retailer's annual shareholder meeting. None of Ackman's candidates for the board won a seat.

World markets: Stocks around the world rose on the back of Wall Street's rally. In Japan, the Nikkei added nearly 1%. European markets were all higher in morning trading.

Oil and money: Crude prices kept on rising as traders bet that an economic recovery would lead to a pick up in demand. In morning trading, the price of oil rose $1.12 to $66.20 a barrel. The dollar fell against major international currencies, including the yen, the euro and the British pound.