Stock index futures point to higher Wall St open

(Reuters ) - Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, the Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 share indexes are 0.1-0.4 percent higher, pointing to a firmer start on Wall Street on Friday.

After Thursday's closing bell, Microsoft shares fell 4.1 percent as the company posted a steeper than expected 17 percent drop in quarterly revenue. Microsoft shares in Frankfurt were down 6.8 percent.

American Express shares fell 5 percent after the closing bell on Thursday, after the company reported quarterly earnings that fell in line with expectations.

Frankfurt-listed shares in the company were down 1.3 percent.

U.S. Federal criminal authorities are investigating whether hedge-fund manager Corey Ribotsky lied to investors about their returns and the holdings of his various funds, the Wall Street Journal reported.

U.S. economic data on Friday include the release of the final Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for July at 1355 GMT.

Shares of Amazon.com added to losses in extended trade on Thursday and fell 7.4 percent to $86.95 after the company reported quarterly results showing revenues missed analyst estimates.

U.S. stocks surged on Thursday, driving the Dow industrials above the key 9,000 mark for the first time since January, as strong corporate profits and rebounding home sales spurred optimism about the economy.

The FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top European shares turned positive on Friday after a better-than-expected German sentiment survey and improved surveys on the euro zone services and manufacturing sectors. It was up 0.4 percent at 911.31 points after hitting its highest level in more than 8 months.

The index, which is up for a tenth straight session on Friday, has gained 41 percent since hitting a lifetime low in early March.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; editing by Simon Jessop)