Wall Street set for slightly lower open

Futures on major U.S. indices point to modestly lower opening on Friday, the last trading day of 2010.

Futures on the S&P 500 are down 0.09 percent, futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.08 percent and Nasdaq100 futures are down 0.02 percent.

Stock markets recorded good gains in 2010, with the S&P 500 rising about 12 percent, the Dow gained more than 10 percent and Nasdaq advanced around 16 percent.

Many economists believe that US economy will continue to grow around 3.5 percent in 2011, led by pickup in consumer and business spending. The extension of Bush-era rate cuts will add moderately to GDP growth, while at the same time as increasing the budget deficit.

On the corporate front, shares of Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC) will be on focus as the company shares rallied on late Thursday on news that BHP may offer $90 per share for APC, a 10 percent premium above the company’s all-time high around $81 in mid-2008.

On Thursday, US stocks fell modestly, despite some encouraging economic data, as investors likely locked in profits given the market’s nice rise in December.

The euro advanced 0.67 percent to 1.3380 against the dollar and the yen gained 0.27 percent against the greenback.

Crude oil futures declined 0.12 percent to $89.73/barrel ahead of inventory data and gold futures advanced 0.54 percent.

European stock markets are currently trading lower with FTSE 100 down by 34.49 points, DAX30 down by 81.28 points and CAC 40 down by 21.72 points.