Stocks headed for gains

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were set to open higher Friday after Greece officially activated an emergency financial aid package and investors remained encouraged by a spate of upbeat corporate results.

Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures were higher ahead of the opening bell.

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

Stocks posted modest gains Thursday as investors mulled concerns about Greece, a stronger dollar and a plunge in commodity prices.

Greece: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou formally announced Friday that his nation will seek aid from the European Union and International Monetary Fund.

European finance leaders pledged earlier this month that Greece could receive, if necessary, as much as $40 billion at a 5% interest rate. The IMF is prepared to lend Greece $13 billion.

Fears that Greece will not make its May 19 deadline for refinancing about $11.4 billion in debt grew Thursday after Moody's cut its bond rating on Greece. A separate report showed that Greece's deficit may be worse than previously estimated.

While Papandreou's announcement provides "some resolution" to Athens' fiscal challenges, the country's decision to use the safety net was expected, according to Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.

'"It's no surprise that Greece activated the aid package to get though this bump in the road," he said. "I think the driver is more a culmination of the better-than-expected earnings we've seen recently."

Earnings: So far, the first-quarter corporate reporting period has been better than expected, with 85% of companies in the S&P 500 beating earnings expectations, said Hogan.

Honeywell (HON, Fortune 500) will reported higher first-quarter operating earnings and revenue early Friday.

After the market closed Thursday, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) posted a higher quarterly profit that surpassed forecasts, due to a continued strong response to it Windows 7 operating system, introduced six months ago, as well as its Bing search engine. Micrpsoft shares eased less than 1% in premarket trading.

Also late Thursday, Amazon.com (AMZN, Fortune 500) reported earnings that jumped 68% from a year earlier, surpassing forecasts, on higher sales that also beat expectations. Amazon shares fell 4% in premarket trading.

Economy: The government said orders for durable goods fell 1.3% in March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, such as refrigerators and airplane parts, rose 0.1% last month. In February, durable goods orders rose 1.1%.

A report on new home sales in March was due after the market opens. Economists anticipate a seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of 330,000 units in March, up from 308,000 in February.

World markets: European shares rose across the board. The DAX in German was up more than 1.4%, while the FTSE 100 in London and the CAC 40 in Paris also posted solid gains.

Asian shares, however, closed lower. The Heng Seng in Hong Kong fell nearly 1% and Japan's Nikkei lost about 0.3%.

Other markets: The dollar fell against its main trading partners, including the euro, pound and yen.

The price of oil slipped 6 cents to $83.62 a barrel. Gold prices were down $2.40 to $1,140 an ounce.

Bond prices fell, with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond at 3.79%.