Futures gain as Oracle outlook boosts techs
Stock index futures rose on Friday, supported by technology shares after Oracle gave an upbeat forecast.
* Wall Street analysts boosted their price targets on Oracle Corp
* BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd
* On the economic front, investors will keep an eye on the final reading of fourth-quarter gross domestic product at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters survey expected a reading of 3.3 percent, compared with a preliminary 2.8 percent.
* The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey is due at 9:55 a.m. EDT.
* S&P 500 futures were up 5.4 points, and above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 40 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 10.25 points.
* U.S. stocks rose Thursday on optimism about upcoming earnings and as investors bought the quarter's top performers, lifting the S&P 500 above a key technical level. The S&P 500 is up 2.5 percent so far this week, and the Dow has gained 2.6 percent. Nasdaq has put on 3.5 percent.
* The Nikkei average rose 1.1 percent to round off a week of gains as foreign investors scooped up battered shares, while European shares climbed to two-week highs though persistent worries about the euro zone debt situation limited gains. <.T> and <.EU>
* Standard & Poor's downgraded Portugal's credit ratings two notches to its second lowest investment grade rating and said it could cut again by one notch as early as next week, depending on the final shape of the euro zone bailout fund. S&P followed a two-notch cut by Fitch.
(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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