*U.S. stock index futures were lower on Friday, a day after Dell Inc (DELL.O) reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales, underlining concerns about the strength of technology sector.

* Dell, the No. 3 maker of personal computers, also posted a 54 percent drop in earnings and gross margins, sending its shares down 6.1 percent to $14.90 in premarket trading on Friday.

* Investors have been closely watching the tech sector, which has rallied sharply in recent months, and is generally considered one of the first to recover from a recession.

* S&P 500 futures SPc1 fell 6.2 points and were below 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 DJc1 dropped 56 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures NDc1 slid 7.50 points.

* Apparel retailer Gap Inc (GPS.N) reported a 25 percent jump in quarterly profit late Thursday that met expectations. Its board approved an additional $500 million in stock repurchases.

* Investors are awaiting quarterly results from homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc (DHI.N).

* General Electric Co (GE.N) and Vivendi SA (VIV.PA) are at least $1 billion apart in their valuation of Vivendi's stake in NBC Universal, the Financial Times reported.

* Some big Goldman Sachs Inc (GS.N) shareholders have asked the company to cut the size of its bonus pool and pass along more of its profits to investors, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.

* U.S. stocks fell Thursday, as another batch of economic data pointed to the fragility of the recovery. Tech stocks were hard hit after a bearish brokerage view on the semiconductor sector.

* December crude futures slipped 0.7 percent to $77.08 per barrel, extending a fall in the previous session on a stronger U.S. dollar. The dollar index rose 0.5 percent.

Investment U.S. Dell