By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Friday ahead of the advance reading of first-quarter gross domestic product and investors awaited a deal to bail out Greece.
Financials will be in focus after a source said U.S. prosecutors were investigating Goldman Sachs Group Inc
U.S. economic growth probably slowed in the first quarter, data is expected to show, but resurgent consumer spending should offer evidence of a sustainable recovery. Other indicators on tap include Chicago PMI data and the final consumer sentiment reading, both for April.
A multibillion-euro aid package for debt-ridden Greece will be hammered out within days and could keep the crisis from spreading, a top European Commission official said. Fears over a sovereign debt default in Europe have weighed on equities in recent weeks.
Earnings season stays in full swing, with Newell Rubbermaid Inc
Dow component Chevron Corp
S&P 500 futures were up 0.1 points and 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 jumped 5 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures up 2 points.
UAL Corp's
Oil-sector companies will be in the spotlight ahead of Chevron's results and as a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico neared wildlife refuges and seafood grounds and the government fought to contain potentially one of the worst U.S. ecological disasters.
European shares fell 0.4 percent in morning trade, while Japan's Nikkei average <.N225> ended up 1.2 percent.
U.S. stocks chalked up their best day in nearly two months on Thursday on robust earnings reports.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
