* Crude oil, gold rally as euro zone fears ease
* GM to begin trading after historic IPO
* Futures up: Dow 95 pts, S&P 13.1 pts, Nasdaq 27 pts
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, Nov 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures followed global markets higher on Thursday on expectations Ireland will get a giant loan to ease its debt crisis.
* Ireland's central bank chief said he expected the country to receive tens of billions of euros in loans from European partners and the International Monetary Fund to help shore up its shattered banks and stabilize the economy.
* U.S.-listed shares of Bank of Ireland climbed 7.9 percent in modest premarket trading.
* Concerns over European sovereign debt woes have weighed on equities in recent sessions, with the S&P 500 down nearly 4 percent since Nov. 5.
* The U.S. dollar fell 0.7 percent as investors, while crude oil futures gained 1.5 percent and gold climbed 1.6 percent.
* Adding to the positive sentiment, General Motors Co completed the biggest initial public offering in U.S. history on Wednesday, raising $20.1 billion after pricing shares at the top of its range on huge investor demand. GM will start trading on Thursday.
* Weekly jobless claims data will be reported at 8:30 a.m. EST. About 440,000 claims are expected, up from the 435,000 posted in the previous week. The October leading index change and the Philadelphia Fed business index for November are also due.
* S&P 500 futures rose 13.1 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures added 95 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 27 points.
* Sears Holding Corp's quarterly loss widened as sales fell, while office supplies chain Staples Inc said quarterly earnings and sales rose modestly. and
* J.M. Smucker Co also reported quarterly results early Thursday.
* Gap Inc, Ross Stores Inc and Intuit Inc are also due to report.
* Verigy Ltd, the semiconductor testing company, plans to buy smaller peer LTX-Credence Corp for about $422 million. LTX-Credence closed Wednesday at $5.98.
* U.S. stocks ended flat on Wednesday as a late-day selloff in banks offset positive news from retailers.