Stock index futures rose on Friday ahead of data on business conditions and consumer sentiment as investors steered toward a three-day holiday weekend.

Markets awaited the release of April personal income and consumption and May's New York ISM numbers, both due at 8:30 a.m. EDT, and May Chicago PMI at 9:45 a.m. EDT.

Economists expect consumption to have risen 0.3 percent, with an 0.5 percent rise in personal income also expected. Chicago PMI is expected to have wilted to a reading of 62 from April's 63.8.

The final reading of the May Reuters/University of Michigan U.S. consumer sentiment survey is due at 9:55 a.m. EDT. Economists expect a reading of 73.3, just above the prior 72.2 level.

The economy has been performing pretty well so I don't think we're going to have any major surprises, said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

The euro strengthened slightly, while the U.S. dollar came under pressure as worries over European debt receded, spurring risk appetite.

Without the euro under pressure, I'd expect the market to open a little higher, Mendelsohn said.

S&P 500 futures rose 3.6 points and were 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 37 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7.5 points.

U.S. markets will be closed on Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.

Apple Inc shares rose 1.8 percent to $258 after Asian and European customers mobbed stores as the iPad tablet computer debuted outside the United States.

British insurer Prudential Plc said it was trying to negotiate the $35.5 billion price it agreed to pay for American International Group Inc's Asian unit amid fears that shareholders might block the deal as too expensive.

Royal Dutch Shell said it would pay $4.7 billion in cash to buy privately held East Resources Inc for substantially more exposure to crucial shale gas plays in North America.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill backed by Boeing Co that would force consideration of illegal subsidies in the multibillion-dollar race between Boeing and Europe's EADS to sell refueling aircraft to the U.S. Air Force.

Guess Inc fell nearly 6 percent in early premarket trading a day after the clothing retailer forecast second-quarter revenues below estimates.

U.S. stocks rallied Thursday as investor concerns eased after China refuted a report it was reviewing its euro zone bond holdings.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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