U.S. stock futures rose on Friday ahead of the Memorial Day break, as bears may take advantage of what could be light volumes to close out negative bets.
S&P 500 futures rose 6 points to 894.70 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 11 points to 1,378.50. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 45 points.
Declines for industrial and materials companies after Standard & Poor's put Britain's Triple-A credit-rating under threat of downgrade sent U.S. stocks lower on Thursday, with the S&P 500 falling 15 points, the Dow Jones Industrial Average retreating 129 points and the Nasdaq Composite falling 32 points.
"The outlook change for the U.K.'s AAA rating could be a seminal longer-term moment in this crisis," said Jim Reid, a credit strategist at Deutsche Bank in a note to clients.
"There will likely be a growing steady recognition that in trying to prevent a Depression, the transfer of risk has been shifted from the private sector to the public purses and this may create a longer, more drawn out problem."
The S&P 500 has dropped seven out of the last nine sessions.
"The risks to the risk rally have consolidated and the glass half-full argument seems to have reached the moment of critical mass," said Lena Komileva, head of G7 market economics, in a note to clients.
"The latest economic figures have reinforced the notion that the post-Lehman precipitous collapse in global economy has ended, and the stabilization of the international recession does look like the early stages of a normal recovery, but a normal economic cycle this is not."
The Bank of Japan on Friday said there were signs of improvement in the economy, the first time in nearly three years it's said so.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post reported that the Obama administration is preparing to send General Motors Corp. into bankruptcy as early as the end of next week under a plan that would give the automaker tens of billions of dollars more in public financing.
And the FDIC seized BankUnited in the 34th bank failure of the year, with its assets sold off a private-equity group led by ex-North Fork Bank CEO John Kansas.
There were quite a few big names that reported results after Thursday's closing bell.
Sears Holdings may climb after making a surprise first-quarter profit on cost cuts and tighter inventory controls.
The Gap reported a 14% profit fall, with sales in all four of its divisions falling.
Teen retailer Aeropostale reported an 81% profit rise as its first-quarter results set a company record.
Campbell Soup reported a 67% profit fall after the year-ago sale of its chocolate division and noted improved margins.
Salesforce.com , the business software provider, cut its annual sales outlook.
Also in the spotlight, American International Groupannounced that Chairman and CEO Edward Liddy will step down and also proposed a 1-for-20 reverse stock split.
Western Digital will replace Embarq ) in the S&P 500, as the latter firm is being acquired by CenturyTel.
The dollar was weaker against both the euro and the Japanese yen.
Oil futures rose 59 cents to $61.64 a barrel, while yields on 10-year Treasury bonds fell 3 basis points to 3.33% ahead of an early close of trade in the bond market.
Yields move in the opposite direction to prices.
Overseas, the Nikkei 225 slipped 0.4% in Tokyo, and the FTSE 100 edged up 0.5% in London after a pounding on Thursday on the S&P downgrade of the country's credit-rating outlook.
