Stock futures signal slight gains for equities

(Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open for equities on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones and for the Nasdaq 100 up 0.2-0.3 percent.

General Electric Co is expected to post an 11 percent rise in earnings per share, reflecting improved results at its large energy operation and strong demand from fast-growing economies including China.

Other companies announcing results include Honeywell International and Verizon Communications .

Economic Cycle Research Institute releases its weekly index of economic activity for October 14 at 1430 GMT. In the prior week the index read 120.2.

Senate Republicans and Democrats rejected each other's economic stimulus bills on Thursday, underscoring their inability to craft a bipartisan solution on job creation before next year's elections.

China is set to show the world that its currency policy begins and ends at home, slowing down the yuan's appreciation to shield exporters from a global economic downturn and show U.S. lawmakers they cannot push the pace of reform.

U.S. coal giant Peabody Energy cleared the biggest hurdle to its long-running ambitions to buy Australia's Macarthur Coal after the target's major shareholder, China's Citic Resources, backed its $4.9 billion ($5 billion) bid.

Duke Realty Corp said it will sell its suburban office portfolio to private equity firm Blackstone Group for $1.08 billion.

Exxon Mobil Corp's refining complex in Singapore has suffered a power outage, industry sources said on Friday. It was unclear when the outage started and which units have been affected.

European shares <.FTEU3> rose 0.8 percent on Friday, after losses in the previous session, on hopes decisions to resolve the region's debt crisis would emerge from meetings held by European leaders by Wednesday.

France and Germany said in a joint statement on Thursday that European leaders would discuss a global solution to the crisis on Sunday but no decisions would be adopted before a second meeting to be held by Wednesday at the latest.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> ended up 37.16 points, or 0.32 percent, at 11,541.78 on Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was up 5.51 points, or 0.46 percent, at 1,215.39. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was down 5.42 points, or 0.21 percent, at 2,598.62.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Hans-Juergen Peters)