Stocks point toward higher open

U.S. stocks pointed to a higher open Friday, with Wall Street encouraged about the technology sector after strong earnings from Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft said late Thursday its profit jumped 23 percent, thanks to brisk sales of the new Halo 3 video game, Windows and Office. The results gave investors reason to believe that U.S. consumers, despite the sinking housing market, still have spending power.

For another gauge of the consumer, investors will be watching for the University of Michigan's final reading on October consumer sentiment, scheduled to be released at 10 a.m. EDT.

The financial sector continues to show signs of uneasiness following the summer's credit market problems. The New York Times reported that after Merrill Lynch & Co. posted its sharp third-quarter loss Wednesday, the investment bank's chairman and chief executive floated the idea of a merger with Wachovia Corp.

The credit squeeze, brought about by escalating subprime mortgage defaults, has given the banking industry trouble. Wall Street hopes the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates again when it meets next week, after cutting them in September.

Dow futures rose 11, or 0.08 percent, to 13,750. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.40, or 0.09 percent, to 1,526.50. Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 10.00, or 0.46 percent, to 2,203.25.

On Thursday, stocks finished modestly lower after a volatile session that saw the Dow plunge 100 points at one point. Wall Street remains uneasy about the credit markets and record-high oil prices.

After briefly surpassing $92 a barrel in Asian trading, crude oil futures for December delivery rose $1.26 to $91.72 in pre-opening trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold prices rose.

The dollar fell against most other major currencies, including the euro, which reached another record high versus the U.S. currency. The dollar rose, though, against the yen.

Stock markets overseas were mixed.

In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.36 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.84 percent. In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.17 percent, Germany's DAX index was flat, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.05 percent.

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