Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Friday, as investors braced for key monthly jobs data.

* At 3:45 a.m. EDT, futures for the S&P 500 were down 0.22 percent, Dow Jones futures were down 0.17 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.06 percent.

* In a Reuters survey, economists forecast that 320,000 U.S. jobs were lost in July compared with a loss of 467,000 jobs in June, while the unemployment rate is seen at 9.6 percent, which would be the highest since June 1983.

* President Barack Obama said on Thursday the actions taken by his administration have helped stop an economic freefall and the United States may be seeing the very beginnings of the end of the recession.

* The Senate approved and sent to the White House on Thursday a $2 billion extension of the cash for clunkers autos sales incentive program. The measure, approved by 60 to 37, extends the successful program that has raised sales of the U.S. auto industry.

* European stocks were down 0.5 percent in morning trade, after Royal Bank of Scotland's results and outlook disappointed investors.

* Chinese stocks <.SSEC> fell 2.9 percent, posting their biggest weekly drop in five months, as large cap shares slumped on concerns about a tightening of liquidity in the market, while Tokyo's Nikkei average <.N225> hit its highest close in 10 months, boosted by upbeat earnings results.

* CBS Corp posted a steep drop in quarterly profit but beat Wall Street expectations, raising hopes the media company has weathered the worst of a depressed advertising market and sending shares up more than 8 percent after the bell [nN06524761]. Shares of CBS traded in Frankfurt were up 1.3 percent.

* The dollar <.DXY> edged lower against a basket of currencies on Friday with investors bracing for the U.S. jobs data which could decide the sustainability of the recent rally in risk assets such as high-yielding currencies.

* Oil edged down on Friday from a six-week high in the previous session.

* U.S. stocks dropped on Thursday as investors turned cautious ahead of the jobs data and took profits after recent strong gains.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> declined 24.71 points, or 0.27 percent, to 9,256.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 5.64 points, or 0.56 percent, to 997.08. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> slid 19.89 points, or 1 percent, to 1,973.16.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Hans Peters)

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