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October 1, 2010 11:40 AM EDT
Stock index futures climbed on Friday as a pick up in Chinese manufacturing eased concerns about the state of the global economy a day after Wall Street closed its best quarter in a year.
Chinese manufacturing picked up steam in September after a mid-year lull, helping to allay fears of a slowdown in the world's second economy, although other leading Asian economies showed some signs of softer business activity.
In what could be a boon for resource related stocks, the Chinese data bolstered oil and metal prices. Copper rallied to its highest in more than two years, while oil traded at around a seven-month high, moving close to $81 a barrel.
S&P 500 futures rose 5.7 points and were below fair 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 added 56 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 13.75 points.
The Chinese data comes ahead of a report expected to show U.S. manufacturing resumed its slowing path last month in a further indication of decoupling between emerging and developed economies. The ISM manufacturing index at 10 a.m. is expected to show a reading of 54.5 versus 56.3 in August, according to a Reuters poll.
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Friday is another heavy day for economic data. Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers will release final September consumer sentiment index at 9.55 a.m. Economists expect a reading of 67.0 compared with 66.6 in the preliminary September report.
The Commerce Department at 8.30 a.m. will release August personal income and consumption data. Economists in a Reuters survey expect both income and spending to increase 0.3 percent. In July, income rose 0.2 percent and spending was up 0.4 percent.
At 10 a.m., the Commerce Department also releases August construction spending. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a fall of 0.4 percent compared with a 1.0 percent drop in July.
In corporate news, shares in Hewlett-Packard
European shares rose on Friday after falling in the previous four sessions. Forecast-beating China manufacturing data fueled gains that were led by commodities stocks.
Japan's Nikkei rose 0.4 percent on Friday, boosted by short-covering after sharp falls the previous day and after better-than-expected U.S. economic data on Thursday provided a degree of optimism.
Wall Street wrapped up its best quarter in a year on Thursday with the S&P and Nasdaq logging in the biggest monthly gains since April 2009, as data showed the economy in better shape than expected.
Defying September's track record as the worst month for stocks, the S&P 500 was up 8.8 percent. In the third quarter, the index gained 10.7 percent, which was the best in a year.
(Reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)
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