US stock futures little changed after market rally

NEW YORK, June 30 (Reuters) U.S. stock futures were little changed on Friday, indicating a flat opening on Wall Street, following a widely expected Federal Reserve interest rate increase and a rally in stocks the previous session.

U.S. benchmark indexes soared on Thursday, with the Nasdaq climbing almost 3 percent, as investors interpreted the Fed's long-awaited policy statement as a signal the U.S. central bank may pause after its latest rate increase.

MasterCard may be in focus after the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said the credit card company may have violated European Union antitrust rules by restricting competition between banks.

''The magnitude of the rally yesterday is weighing on futures this morning,'' said Anthony Chan, senior economist at JP Morgan Private Client Services in Columbus, Ohio. ''Stock trading may be lackluster.'' S&P 500 futures fell 0.60 point, slightly below 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 were down 10 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 3.5 points.

The U.S. central bank raised its key federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point to a five-year high of 5.25 percent, as expected, on Thursday but dropped a phrase from its previous outlook statement that further policy firming may yet be needed.

No S&P 500 companies are expected to report earnings on Friday but the heavy economic data calendar includes U.S. personal income and spending data for May at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT), the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for June at 09:45 a.m. (1345 GMT) and the Chicago PMI for June at 10 a.m.

Palm Inc. may also be in focus as the hand-held computer and phone maker reported quarterly revenues that failed to meet analyst estimates.

Meanwhile, Research in Motion Ltd. shares rose 3.7 percent after the maker of the BlackBerry wireless e-mail device reported a higher first-quarter profit.

On Thursday, the Nasdaq Composite Index shot up almost 3 percent, its biggest percentage gain since March 2004. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped nearly 2 percent, recording its biggest percentage gain since April 2005. All 30 Dow components ended higher.

The Standard&Poor's 500 advanced 2.16 percent, its biggest gain since October 2003. The rally took the S&P 500 back into positive territory for the year.

REUTERS SBA BD1643