US stock futures edge up; oil slips, PCE on tap

NEW YORK, Sep 29 (Reuters) U.S. stock futures indicated a slightly higher opening on Friday as oil prices slipped, though investors were cautious ahead of more data on inflation and consumer spending a day after the Dow briefly topped its closing record high.

Among advancing stocks, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the world's No. 2 maker of microchips for personal computers, rose 1.7 percent in Europe. The company has sealed a deal to supply China's second-largest PC maker with chips. For details, see ID:nHKG361404.

Oil slipped to .22 a barrel, down 54 cents. However, there were signs that some OPEC producers may trim output to stem a price decline caused by ample U.S. inventories.

On Thursday, stocks rose for a fourth day, driven by optimism about falling oil prices.

''There'll be another attempt to close at all-time highs. There's a lot of cheerleading and exuberance,'' but the history of the market doesn't really support such optimism, said Barry Ritholtz, fund manager at Ritholtz Capital Partners.

S&P 500 futures were up 2.60 points, slightly above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 21 points and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 6 points.

A slew of data on Friday will be studied by investors for clues about the strength of the economy and the outlook for interest rates.

Economists are expecting a rise in both August income and spending. Investors also will scrutinize the core personal consumption expenditure number, an inflation gauge used by the Federal Reserve. Economists expect core PCE to rise 0.2 percent.

The Commerce Department releases August personal income and consumption data at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT).

Also on tap is the National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago's September index of manufacturing activity in the Midwest region, due at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT).

The University of Michigan will release its September final consumer sentiment index at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect a median reading of 85.0 compared with 82.0 in the final August report.

Research In Motion Ltd. jumped 16 percent to .99 after the bell late on Thursday after the company reported a higher than expected second-quarter profit.

Shares of consulting company Accenture Ltd. slipped 2 percent after the closing bell after the company reported fourth-quarter revenue that missed Wall Street targets. ID:nN28375773 On Thursday the Dow rose to 11,728.46, temporarily moving above its record closing high of 11,722.98 set on Jan. 14, 2000. On that same day in 2000, the Dow also hit its all-time intraday high of 11,750.28.

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