Stock futures slip ahead of GDP data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall St stock index futures pointed to a lower start on Friday as investors stayed cautious ahead of U.S. GDP data, with S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq futures down 0.3 to 0.4 percent at 5:11 a.m. ET.

* The main focus on Friday is U.S. GDP figures at 8:30 a.m. ET. U.S. economic growth likely slowed in the second quarter as a capital investment drive by businesses was sated by imports and consumer spending tapered off, a government report is expected to show.

* Investors will also watch the final reading of the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for July, Chicago PMI for July, and the New York ISM survey for July.

* Company earnings in focus include oil company Chevron , insurance brokerage Aon Corp. , and drugmaker Merck & Co. .

* MetLife Inc , the biggest U.S. life insurance company, posted a second-quarter profit of $1.53 billion late Thursday, helped by higher premium revenue from sales domestically and abroad.

New York's attorney general has subpoenaed MetLife Inc and Prudential Financial Inc as part of a probe into whether life insurers are defrauding families of deceased military personnel by siphoning off millions of dollars of death benefits for themselves.

* Amgen Inc reported better-than-expected second-quarter profit late on Thursday and the world's largest biotechnology company said the launch of its new osteoporosis drug Prolia was progressing as planned.

* Google Inc said its earlier report that Internet search services in China were being fully blocked could have been the result of a technical glitch that overstated the problem.

* Li Lu, a Chinese-American investor and hedge fund manager, could be in line to take a top investment role at Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and even succeed the legendary U.S. investor, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged billionaire Samuel Wyly and his brother Charles with fraud late Thursday for reaping more than $550 million of illicit gains by trading stock in four companies while they were serving as directors.

* European shares slipped for a third straight session on Friday, with construction shares among top losers, as concerns over U.S. economic growth and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official hurt market sentiment.

* By 5:11 a.m. ET, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> index of top shares was down 0.4 percent at 1,042.42 points.

* Japan's Nikkei <.N225> closed down 1.6 percent as signs that the U.S. recovery was faltering outweighed upbeat domestic earnings.

* U.S. stocks sagged in volatile trading on Thursday after weak outlooks from technology companies and downbeat comments from a Federal Reserve official gave investors little reason to buy.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 0.3 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 0.4 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dropped 0.6 percent.

(Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Erica Billingham)