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Empresas y finanzas

Wall St futures point to higher open for stocks


    LONDON (Reuters) -U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open for Wall Street on Friday, adding to a late rebound in the previous session, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones industrial average and for the Nasdaq up 0.5 to 0.7 percent by 5.02 a.m. EST.

    * Early losses on the S&P 500 , triggered by deepening concerns that higher oil could stifle economic activity, eased in late-day trading on Thursday as Brent crude prices came off 2-1/2 year highs of $120 a barrel.

    * The index is down 2.7 percent for this week, partly on worries that political unrest in oil-rich Libya could spread to major oil-producing countries and result in persistently higher energy prices at the expense of fragile global economic growth.

    * Brent crude hovered at around $112 on Friday, with the crisis in Libya continuing to underpin prices.

    * The U.N. Security Council was to meet on Friday to discuss a draft proposal for sanctions against Libyan leaders, locked in a bloody battle for survival against a popular uprising.

    * In company news, Boeing Co rose 3.4 percent after the bell on Thursday as the firm said it won a $30 billion contract for 179 new U.S. Air Force refueling planes.

    * Bailed-out insurer American International Group Inc rose 1.4 percent in extended trade after the firm said it earned $11.2 billion in the fourth quarter on asset sales, though charges to expand its reserves for old asbestos claims pushed its underlying operations into another loss.

    * News Corp has kicked off the process to explore the sale or spin-off of its troubled social entertainment site, Myspace, a person familiar with the talks said on Thursday.

    * Almost a third of Apple shareholder votes cast were in favor of a proposal to disclose a succession plan for Chief Executive Steve Jobs, underscoring investors' worries over who will replace the visionary leader at the helm.

    * Macroeconomic data due on Friday include U.S. fourth-quarter preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) figures at 8.30 a.m., and February's final Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey at 9.55 a.m.

    * Among the companies scheduled to release earnings results include retailer JC Penny

    * In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.5 percent in early trade, taking a breather after a week-long retreat, though trading in British shares was halted due to technical issues on the London Stock Exchange .

    (Reporting by Harpreet Bhal)