Wall Street stock index futures point to flat open

(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat to slightly higher open for Wall Street on Friday, as investors pause for breath after recent gains, with futures for the S&P 500 and Dow Jones futures trading flat, while Nasdaq futures were up 0.1 percent by 0956 GMT.

The S&P 500 <.SPX>, which has risen 4.2 percent so far this month, has doubled its value in less than two years, the quickest 100 percent gain since the Great Depression.

However, volume has been light in the most recent leg of the rally, with just 6.7 billion shares changing hands Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq combined -- the second-lowest so far in 2011.

A Group of 20 meeting will be on investors' radar screens, as the world's top central bankers take center stage on Friday ahead of the two-day event charged with tackling global imbalances.

In a paper prepared for the meeting, the International Monetary Fund said the United States' policy of quantitative easing could cause a destabilizing flood of capital, though it conceded this had not happened so far.

Political unrest in the oil-producing Middle East and North Africa region is also likely to be closely monitored, as crowds in Libya, Yemen, Iran and Bahrain take to the streets in public displays of anger toward their governments.

In company news, U.S.-based alternative share trading platform BATS Global Markets is near a deal to buy peer Chi-X Europe for more than $300 million in stock, a source close to BATS said on Thursday.

Apple Inc. chief executive Steve Jobs, on medical leave from the company he co-founded, attended a meeting of technology industry leaders with U.S. President Barack Obama in northern California on Thursday.

Time Warner ousted Jack Griffin, the head of its publishing unit, after fewer than six months in his job due to what insiders described as a polarizing management style.

Chemicals group DuPont extended its 33.4 billion crown ($6.1 billion) offer for Danish food and enzymes group Danisco to April 1, hoping to gain more acceptances as regulators clear the deal.

On the earnings front, Campbell Soup is expected to report second-quarter results on Friday.

European shares on the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> slipped in early trade, giving up some gains after hitting 29-month closing highs in the last four consecutive sessions.

(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal; Editing by Mike Nesbit)