Futures on major U.S. stock indices point to a higher opening on Friday ahead of economic data including durable goods orders and new home sales. Futures on the S&P 500 are up 0.19 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are up 0.20 percent and Nasdaq100 futures are up 0.37 percent. Investors are likely to focus on durable goods orders and new home sales reports to gauge the strength of recovery in the world’s largest economy. The Commerce Department is due to release August durable goods orders report at 8:30 am EDT. Economists expect new orders for manufactured durable goods in August to decline by 1.30 percent compared to a 0.4 percent gain in July. Core durable goods orders, excluding transportation, are expected to increase 0.7 percent in August. The economists forecast new home sales to be 290,000 for August against 276,000 in the previous month. Sales of new single-family houses in July plunged 12.4 percent to 276,000 units annual rate, the lowest level since the series started in 1963, from the revised June rate of 315,000. More News BSE Sensex reaches new high of 20,020 points Restructuring will not impact Sierra Wireless' operating cost: analyst Analysts cut AMD’s profit view amid weak PC market Must Read While Iran's president assails Western capitalism, his country reels High Prices Slow Adoption For 3-D TV Business confidence in Germany posted a further small rise in September, after it reached its highest level since June 2007 in the previous month. The Ifo Institute's business climate index rose to 106.8 from 106.7 in August, while analysts at Action Economics expected the reading to drop to 106.4 points in September. On the corporate front, technology stocks will be on focus after Advanced Micro Devices Inc. late Thursday cut its third quarter revenue outlook, citing weakness in consumer notebook market in Europe and North America. AMD said it expects revenue to fall 1 percent to 4 percent from the second quarter's $1.65 billion. Nike shares surged in late trading Thursday after the company reported first-quarter net income of $559 million or $1.14 per share, up from $513 million or $1.04 per share a year ago. On Thursday, US stocks ended lower, weighed down by renewed worries about European debt and a jump in U.S. unemployment claims, offsetting a bounce in existing home sales. The euro advanced 0.66 percent to 1.3402 against the dollar and the yen advanced 0.08 percent against the greenback. Crude oil futures advanced 0.25 percent to $75.37/barrel and gold futures gained 0.30 percent to $1,300.20 an ounce. European stocks are currently trading lower with FTSE 100 down by 24.59 points, DAX30 down by 29.33 points and CAC 40 down by 20.05 points.

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