S+P 500 futures lift after AFP reports elevate hopes of a ceasefire in Lebanon

Now before anyone gets to reading this thinks there is about to be a ceasefire in the Lebanon, then please do not take that as read. The latest reports from AFP suggest that the Lebanese authorities are trying to broker such with the Israelis, but at the same time any efforts there are not even close to a reality at this stage. Nevertheless, the headlines have helped the European stock markets to come off earlier session lows (not the FTSE 100 though folks) and also lifted the opening outlook for the US markets this afternoon. Ahead of that opening, there is one US release which can sometimes shift the dial and thats out at 10am GMT- the US NFIB small business optimism index. This is expected to come in better than the 91.2 reading posted last month. Earlier today the S+P 500 futures were pricing the opening at around 5,695. They have since priced back above 5,715 and right now they are on session highs, around 5,716