By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures edged up Friday, the
moves coming ahead of a report on how well the world's largest
economy performed in the second quarter. Separate data on tap may
show a pullback in consumer sentiment this month.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJZ4) were up 31
points, or 0.2%, to 16,931, while those for the S&P 500 index
(SPZ4) rose 2.50 points, or 0.1%, to 1,964.20. Nasdaq-100 index
futures (NDZ4) were up 10.50 points, or 0.3%, to 4,018.75.
Data: The third and final reading on U.S. gross domestic product
-- due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern from the Commerce Department -- is
likely to be raised to 4.7% from a prior estimate of 4.2%. That
upwardly revision could come as mainly fresh data show consumers
spent more on health care than previously estimated.
Inventories are a key figure to watch in the report as a gain
would suggest companies maintained a healthy level of production
into the early fall.
At 9:55 a.m. Eastern, the final print of University of Michigan
consumer confidence may dip from a preliminary reading of 84.6.
Economists polled by MarketWatch forecast a 84.3 reading.
Apple Inc. shares (AAPL) will be in focus on Friday. They
dropped nearly 4% on Thursday as the company tried to calm concerns
about its new iPhone 6 Plus being susceptible to bending
easily.
The drop in Apple's shares contributed to all overall selloff on
Wall Street on Thursday. Both the S&P 500 (SPX) and Dow (DJI)
suffered their biggest drops since July 31, and the Nasdaq
Composite (RIXF) fell 1.9%. The benchmarks are each on track for
weekly losses of at least 1.9%.
Stocks to watch: Finish Line (FINL) is expected to report
second-quarter earnings of 60 cents a share on revenue of $478.1
million, according to FactSet analysts.
Nike (NKE) shares jumped more than 5% late Thursday after the
athletic apparel and gear maker posted better-than-expected
quarterly earnings.
Chiquita Brands International (CQB) and Fyffes PLC agreed to
revised terms of a merger plan under which Chiquita would have a
greater share of the combined company.
Chip maker Micron (MU) saw its shares drive higher late Thursday
after fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street's projections.
Other markets: Overnight, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 erased its
gains for the year, keying off Wall Street's selloff and a slump in
iron-ore prices. European stocks were modestly lower, with a
downbeat view of German consumer confidence adding to negative
sentiment.
Gold futures (GCZ4) edged up less than $2 an ounce while oil
futures(CLX4) slipped.
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