Stock Futures Rise After Thursday's Sell-off

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street Friday after steep declines the previous session, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 up by between 0.6 and 0.8 percent.

* Economic Cycle Research Institute releases at 1430 GMT its weekly index of economic activity for Sept. 4. In the prior week the index read 122.4.

* Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives regrouped early Friday to approve a must-pass spending bill, but the prospect of a government shutdown loomed as Democrats said it would go nowhere in the Senate.

* UBS CEO Oswald Gruebel will on Friday attempt to convince his board the Swiss bank has a future in investment banking and can bounce back from a $2.3 billion crisis around rogue trading.

* PNM Resources said it plans to sell Texas-based electricity provider First Choice Power to Direct Energy for $270 million, as it looks to return to its core pure-play electric utility business.

* Facebook unveiled new ways for users to listen to music and watch TV, offering tie-ups with the likes of Spotify and Hulu, as it attempts to make media an integral part of its social networking service.

The media push comes as Facebook faces fresh competition from Google , which in June launched a rival social networking service, Google+.

* Nike Inc staved off margin pressure in the first quarter with strong revenue and price increases, and said it was confident about its position among peers. Shares were up 4.7 percent after the bell.

* European shares rose in a tentative recovery on Friday following sharp falls the previous session after the Group of 20 economies pledged action to help financial markets and increase the flexibility of the euro zone's rescue fund.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 391.01 points, or 3.51 percent, to 10,733.83 on Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> lost 37.20 points, or 3.19 percent, to 1,129.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slid 82.52 points, or 3.25 percent, to 2,455.67.

* Wall Street's fear gauge, the CBOE Volatility Index <.VIX>, jumped 12 percent, giving the index its biggest two-day percentage spike in a month as investors protected themselves against future losses.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by David Hulmes)