Stock index futures pointed to a pause in the rally on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.15 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.06 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.03 percent at 0705 GMT.

* European stocks were up 0.4 pct in morning trade, gaining ground for an eighth straight session, led by banking stocks such as Banco Santander and Societe Generale . <.EU>

* The euro held at three-week highs on Friday, on track for its second straight week of gains, while the dollar appeared vulnerable to further losses after falling below a key chart level.

* Oil futures dipped in the wake of sluggish economic indicators that raised doubts about the sustainability of a recent acceleration in demand growth by top oil consumer the United States.

* Europe's fiscal problems are a risk that will have some effect on U.S. growth during the rest of this year and 2011, U.S. Federal Reserve vice chairman Donald Kohn said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal.

* A Democratic bill to extend jobless benefits and raise taxes on investment fund managers failed a key vote in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Barack Obama's push to boost the economy.

* Motorola Inc will buy back most of its debt and pump the bulk of its remaining cash into its proposed spinoff of its money-losing mobile devices unit, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.

* Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co said on Friday it would buy Intelligence Ltd, a unit of cable broadcaster Usen Corp <4842.OJ>, for 32.5 billion yen ($357 million), making it the private equity giant's first significant deal in Japan.

* Bayer said Teva's U.S. unit admitted in a court proceeding on Wednesday that some of the information included on packages of its oral contraceptive Gianvi was false and agreed to correct its labeling.

* U.S. stocks edged higher late in a choppy, thinly traded session on Thursday as investors built on momentum gained after the S&P 500 index broke through its 200-day moving average earlier this week.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 24.71 points, or 0.24 percent, to 10,434.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> added 1.43 points, or 0.13 percent, to 1,116.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> inched up 1.23 points, or 0.05 percent, to 2,307.16.

* The S&P 500 moved above its 200-day moving average for the first time in a month on Tuesday. Some investors see that as a bullish momentum signal.

* On the macro front, investors awaited the Economic Cycle Research Institute's (ECRI) weekly index of economic activity, due at 1430 GMT.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)

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