LONDON (ShareCast) - US stocks futures pointed to a rebound on Friday, as investors awaited more economic data that could shed light on the state of the US economy.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open up 92 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are expected to begin the final session of the week up by eight and 14 points respectively.

US stock indices plunged on Thursday, as investors digested a mixed bag of 'B-list' economic data and earnings.
Analysts believe Wednesday's minutes from the Federal Reserve's meeting really appear to have worried investors.

"People had begun to believe that the Fed would hold off on rate hikes until next year because of the weakness experienced in the first quarter but Wednesday's statement suggests that is far from the case," said Oanda's senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

"When rate hikes are being discussed alongside weak earnings reports, it's not surprising that investors are getting a little anxious."

The economic calendar should give investors some indications over whether the US economy got off to a better start in the second three months of the year.

The US manufacturing purchasing managers' index is released at 14:45 London time, followed by the ISM manufacturing reading at 15:00 London time.

At the same time, the closely-watched University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index will be published.

"Considering the soft nature of US data at the moment, a downturn in these figures could put the stoppers on the tentative gains for the stocks," said Connor Campbell, financial analyst at Spreadex.

Construction spending for March is also released at 15:00 BST, while car sales for April will be published throughout the day.

In corporate news, Chevron, CVS Health and Madison Square Garden and Clorox all report before the opening bell, while Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway will publish results after the close.

LinkedIn slumped 20.6% in pre-market trading after the professional networking group issued a profit forecast well short of analysts' estimates.

Visa fell 1.6% ahead of the bell after saying late on Thursday that its second quarter earnings were hit by currency headwinds, while American International Group shed 0.64% despite reporting a 53.4% jump in first quarter profit.

The dollar gained 0.50% and 0.27% against the pound and the yen respectively but fell 0.48% against the euro, while gold futures declined 0.17% to $1,180.40.

Oil prices declined slightly, with West Texas Intermediate losing 0.10% to $59.57 a barrel, while Brent shed 0.75% to $66.28 a barrel.

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