Stock index futures pointed to a slightly higher open on Wall Street on Friday, following the previous session's steep sell-off, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.4 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.29 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.15 percent at 0800 GMT (4 a.m. ET).

U.S. shares tumbled nearly 4 percent on Thursday on growing fears the euro zone's efforts to tackle its sovereign debt crisis will fall short, jeopardizing the global economic recovery.

European shares resumed their sharp retreat on Friday, down 1.2 percent in morning trade with banks such as HSBC and UBS featuring among the top losers <.EU>, while Japan's Nikkei average posted its biggest weekly drop in more than a year on Friday. <.T>

Germany is poised to approve on Friday the lion's share of a $1 trillion safety net for financially troubled euro zone nations as an EU task force looks to toughen regulations within the bloc blighted by a debt crisis that has cast a pall over global economic health.

The U.S. Senate approved a sweeping Wall Street reform bill on Thursday night, capping months of wrangling over the biggest overhaul of financial regulation since the 1930s.

Dell will be in the spotlight after its quarterly sales and profit beat expectations but its gross margin fell short of analysts' forecasts and the computer maker warned that components supply will remain tight. Shares of Dell traded in Frankfurt were down 4.2 percent.

Gap Inc said on Thursday it sees margin expansion in 2010 as it posted slightly better-than-expected quarterly results. Shares of GAP traded in Frankfurt were down 4.5 percent.

Web search group Google Inc on Thursday showed off a risky attempt to marry the Web to television and reach the $70 billion TV advertising market, chasing a dream that has eluded even archrival Apple Inc.

Foot Locker's first-quarter results beat market expectations, boosted by robust margins and leaner inventory, sending the athletic shoe retailer's shares up 6 percent in after-market trade.

Salesforce.com Inc issued a full-year profit outlook at the low end of Wall Street projections as the Web-based software maker plans to increase spending to fuel sales growth.

U.S. oil prices dropped to near $70 on Friday, after falling the previous day for a seventh time in eight sessions, on unabated fears that Europe's debt crisis could hurt global economic growth and slow energy demand.

Credit card network Visa Inc said it was disappointed with an amendment that was passed along with the U.S. Senate financial regulation bill late on Thursday that would limit interchange fees.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 376.36 points, or 3.60 percent, to end at 10,068.01. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 43.46 points, or 3.90 percent, to 1,071.59. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 94.36 points, or 4.11 percent, to 2,204.01.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Erica Billingham)

Germany Japan Nikkei 225 Dell