Futures point to opening gains on Wall Street
German IFO business index shows unexpected resilience
ECB says could see interest rate liftoff in July
Euro rallies on prospect of rise in euro zone rates

LONDON, May 23 Reuters Stocks kept just above bear market terrain on Monday while the euro leapt after the European Central Bank said it was likely to lift its deposit rate out of negative territory by September.

Oil prices rose, gold extended its recent gains, but the dollar slipped further as investors cut their bets on further advances in the U.S. currency from rising U.S. interest rates.

The MSCI all country index was up 0.3, though still down around 18 from its record high in January.

SP 500 futures were up 0.7, while Nasdaq futures gained 1, indicating a firm open in New York.

Investors were relieved that the SP 500 index ended on Friday just clear of bear market territory, meaning down 20 from its Jan. 3 record high close.

But the SP index had still suffered its seventh successive weekly fall for the first time since the dotcom bubble burst in 2001, Deutsche Bank said in a note.

For what it39;s worth the Dow saw the first successive 8th weekly decline since 1923 which really brings home the state of the current selloff, Deutsche Bank said.

The focus in Europe was on ECB President Christine Lagarde, who accelerated an already sharp policy turnaround from all but ruling out rate hikes to now pencilling in several in the face of recordhigh euro zone…