Stock Futures Mixed; JPMorgan Earnings Eyed

(REUTERS) -- Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.05 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.16 percent at 1039 GMT.

European shares were up 0.5 percent on Friday morning, extending the week's gains, led by euro zone banking stocks in the wake of successful bond sales by Spain and Italy.

Italy's three-year debt costs fell below 5 percent at its first bond auction of the year on Friday spurring hopes the troubled borrower would be able to make it through a refinancing hump in the first months of the year.

Investors were relieved on Thursday after Spain's solid debt auction at sharply lower borrowing cost, helped by ultra-cheap funding from the European Central Bank which provided banks with nearly half a trillion euros of three-year money late last year.

Banking stocks will be in the spotlight on Friday ahead of results from JPMorgan Chase , the first Wall Street firm to post fourth-quarter earnings.

On the macro front, international trade figures will be released at 1330 GMT, while the preliminary reading for the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index will be released at 1445 GMT.

Bank of America Corp , the second-largest U.S. bank by assets, has informed U.S. regulators that it is willing to draw back from some parts of the country if its financial problems worsen, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the situation.

US Airways Group , Delta Airlines and private equity firm TPG Capital are among several parties interested in potential bids for AMR Corp , the bankrupt parent of American Airlines, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Target Corp will soon have exclusive shops selling everything from candy to clothing as the discount chain tries to stand out among the growing ranks of retailers offering trendy, often low-priced merchandise.

Novartis AG is cutting nearly 2,000 jobs in the United States ahead of the patent loss of top-selling blood pressure drug Diovan as it braces for tough market conditions and a slump in sales of another key drug.

Enraged Chinese shoppers pelted Apple Inc's flagship Beijing store with eggs and shoving matches with police broke out when customers were told the store would not begin sales of the popular iPhone 4S as scheduled.

Goldman Sachs and Cerberus have exited German property company GSW Immobilien AG by placing a 20 percent stake late on Thursday.

U.S. fast food chain McDonald's has extended its sponsorship of the Olympics for a further eight years, making it the official restaurant at Olympics venues until the 2020 Summer Games. McDonald's is one of 11 top sponsors who contribute an estimated $100 million each for every two-Games package of one winter and one summer Games.

The S&P 500 closed at a five-month high for the third day on Thursday but had difficulty extending gains in the face of lackluster economic data and another European bond market test.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 21.57 points, or 0.17 percent, to 12,471.02. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 3.02 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,295.50. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> rose 13.94 points, or 0.51 percent, to 2,724.70.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Andrew Callus)