Stock futures signal dip; Palm in focus

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.2 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.2 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.2 percent at 3:37 a.m. EDT.

Robust sales of the Pre smartphone helped Palm Inc (PALM.O) post a smaller-than-expected loss, but a tepid second-quarter sales forecast and a plan to sell more shares helped snuff out a rally and sent its shares down nearly 2 percent on Thursday. Palm shares traded in Frankfurt (PALM.F) were down 1.5 percent.


American Airlines will team up with British Airways (BAY.L) and Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) to expand their alliance with cash-strapped Japan Airlines (9205.T), two people with direct knowledge of the talks said, to beat off a rival offer from another airline. The proposal, to include a capital injection from American Airlines but may not bring money from British Airways (BA) or Qantas, is aimed at thwarting Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) -- a member of a rival alliance that is also in talks to invest in JAL.

Boeing Co (BA.N) will be in the spotlight after the head of Airbus said in remarks published on Friday that the European planemaker faces two further "difficult" years and does not rule out making further production cuts if necessary to adjust to demand. "I certainly cannot exclude that we will cut back production even more," Chief Executive Tom Enders told the Wall Street Journal in an interview. "I think we still have two difficult years ahead of us."

Penn National Gaming Inc (PENN.O) is in negotiations to buy the bankrupt Fontainebleau Las Vegas casino and resort, the Wall Street Journal said citing a source with knowledge of the negotiations.

Oil prices fell toward $72 a barrel on Friday, as a fall in Asian equities markets weighed on sentiment and encouraged investors to take profit.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei average .N225 slipped 0.7 percent on Friday, with financials hit after consumer finance firm Aiful Corp (8515.T) said it was asking for debt repayments to be rescheduled. China's key stock index fell more than 3 percent, as a slew of upcoming new share issues sparked profit-taking.

European shares were down 0.4 percent in morning trade, led lower by banks such as BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) and Barclays (BARC.L), as investors were taking a breather after recent lofty gains.

U.S. stocks slipped on Thursday after a three-day run-up on concern recent gains were overextended despite the latest round of solid economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 7.79 points, or 0.08 percent, to end at 9,783.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 3.27 points, or 0.31 percent, at 1,065.49. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 6.40 points, or 0.30 percent, at 2,126.75.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Mike Nesbit)

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