(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures turned green on Friday after a government release showed consumer spending ticked up 0.3% in May.
At 8:31 am ET, Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures increased 1.20 points to 917.80. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 8 points to 8422. Nasdaq Composite Index futures climbed 2 points to 1475.
According to a
Commerce Department release, US consumer spending, which accounts for nearly two third of economy, increased 0.3% in May. Personal Income rose 1.4% in May.
Early on Friday,
KB Home (
NYSE: KBH) reported a narrower second quarter net loss of $78.4 million, or $1.03 a share, compared with a loss of $255.9 million, or $3.30 a share, in the similar period last year. Revenue plunged 40% from the year-ago quarter to $384.5 million.
Late on Thursday,
Accenture Ltd. (
NYSE: ACN) announced that fiscal third-quarter net income came fell to $444 million, or 68 cents per share, from $469.1 million, or 74 cents a share, in year earlier quarter. Revenue slipped 16% to $5.54 billion from $6.59 billion a year earlier,
Micron Technology Inc. (
NYSE: MU) reported a wider fiscal third-quarter loss of $290 million, or 36 cents a share, compared to a loss of $236 million, or 30 cents a share, in the year ago period. Revenue slumped 26% to $1.1 billion from $1.5 billion.
Palm Inc. (
NASDAQ: PALM) said that its fourth fiscal quarter $105 million, or 78 cents a share, compared to a loss of $43.4 million, or 40 cents a share, in the prior year quarter. Revenue declined more than 70% to $86.8 million.
European banking giant
UBS AG (
NYSE: UBS) said late Thursday that it plans to raise 3.8 billion Swiss francs ($3.5 billion) of new capital. The bank also said that though it would likely post a second-quarter loss, its operating results, helped by improved investment banking conditions and lower losses and write-downs, should be better.
On the economic front,
University of Michigan/Reuters consumer sentiment data is due for release at 09:55 am ET.
US stocks finished mostly higher after a rally in retail and commodity stocks boosted sentiment. Shares also rallied after as investors breathed a sigh of relief over
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's testimony on the Fed's role in
Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch.
European stocks were mixed in afternoon trade. At 13:14 pm London time, the UK FTSE advanced 13.61 points or 0.32% to 4266.18. The German DAX gained 0.25% while French CAC lost 0.18%.
Asian stocks finished up. The Nikkei 225 rose 81.31 points or 0.83% to end at 9,877.39. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong jumped 325.23 points or 1.78% to 18,600.26.
NYMEX crude oil for August delivery climbed as much as $1.06 or 1.5% to $71.29 a barrel in electronic trading.
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here.
