5 Things You Should Know Before the Stock Market Opens

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock index futures were pointing to a higher open for Wall Street Friday after a report said central banks of the world's biggest economies are preparing a coordinated response to provide further monetary stimulus measures if the outcome of Greece's weekend election spooks the markets.

European shares gained and Asian stocks finished mostly higher. The Nikkei 225 index in Japan was essentially unchanged at 8,569.32, but Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 2.3% to close at 19,233.94.

U.S. stocks on Thursday finished higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 155 points, or 1.2%, to close at 12,652, returning to positive territory for the week.

---

The economic calendar in the U.S. on Friday features the Empire manufacturing index for June at 8:30 a.m. EDT; industrial production and capacity utilization for May at 9:15 a.m., and the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for June at 9:55 a.m.

---

Yammer agreed to sell itself to Microsoft (MSFT) for $1.2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

It's unclear when the acquisition of Yammer, the business-software company, will be completed and announced, said a person familiar with the deal, the Journal reported.

Yammer is often called Facebook for the workplace because it creates private social networks inside companies, the newspaper noted.

---

Dell (DELL) is the "strategic bidder" that offered to buy Quest Software (QSFT) for $2.15 billion in cash, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

PC maker Dell is the unidentified company mentioned in a statement made by Quest, which disclosed on Thursday that it had received an offer from a "strategic bidder" of $25.50 a share, Reuters said.

The reported Dell bid tops an earlier offer of nearly $2 billion from private investment firm Insight Venture Partners.

Shares of Quest Software gained more than 9% Thursday to finish at $26.06.

---

Human Genome Sciences (HGSI) said Friday it set July 16 as the bid date for definitive offers to acquire the biotech company.

Human Genome invited GlaxoSmithkline (GSK) to participate in the ongoing process. Human Genome previously rejected a buyout offer of $13 a share from GlaxoSmithKline as inadequate, prompting GlaxoSmithKline to take the bid direct to shareholders through a tender offer.

---

-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



>To contact the writer of this article, click here: Joseph Woelfel

>To submit a news tip, send an email to: [e-mail].