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 Investors want to see if the preliminary April reading for the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index will offer insight into the mind set of the consumer amid a slowdown in the economy. A big drop in consumer confidence could unnerve Wall Street as consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
While Wall Street is expecting a quarterly report from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. early Friday investors are also likely still examining a disappointing forecast from Microsoft Corp. The tech leader said after the closing bell Thursday that worldwide sales next year should offset weakness in the U.S. economy. Still, investors appeared unimpressed by Microsoft's forecast for the current quarter.
But investors seemed to look past some of their concerns early Friday, sending stock futures higher as the dollar showed strength again against other major currencies.
Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 69, or 0.54 percent, to 12,900. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures advanced 7.20, or 0.52 percent, to 1,393.20, and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 7.75, or 0.40 percent, to 1,928.50.
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 Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.89 percent from 3.83 percent late Thursday.
The dollar rose again against other major currencies, sending prices of many commodities lower. Light, sweet crude rose 96 cents to $117.02 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed up 2.28 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.27 percent, Germany's DAX index advanced 1.13 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.02 percent.
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On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com/
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com/
[Associated Press; By TIM PARADIS]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
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