JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand firmed against the dollar on Thursday in line with the euro, and stock futures pointed to a stronger start on the bourse. The JSE's blue chip Top-40 March futures contract was up 0.55 percent ahead of the market opening at 0700 GMT. The rand was trading at 7.6720 to the dollar at 0637 GMT, 0.92 percent firmer than its New York close of 7.7430 on Wednesday. "We are very much following the euro. If the euro can break 1.38 (to the dollar), the rand will certainly dip towards or go back below 7.60. If the euro can't break through we are likely to stay in the 7.64 and 7.74 range," said Jim Bryson, chief dealer at Rand Merchant Bank. The euro -- currency of one of South Africa's biggest trading partners -- rose ahead of a European Union summit expected to shed light on a possible rescue plan for Greece, which has hit the single currency and driven investors out of risky assets. Government bonds weakened, with the yield on the 2015 bond up 1.5 basis points to 8.395 percent and the 2036 yield increasing by 3 basis point to 9.03 percent. The market will watch out for December manufacturing data at 1100 GMT to see whether the economy is on a recovery track after exiting a recession in the third quarter of 2009. A Reuters poll showed output is expected to have risen by 0.9 percent year/year after a 4.7 percent contraction in November. On the political front, President Jacob Zuma delivers his state of the nation address in which he is expected to announce measures needed to help the economy. The speech is due at 1700 GMT.

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