S&P, Dow futures rise after financial reform deal

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | June 25 2010 7:40 AM

S&P 500 and Dow futures edged up on Friday as investors digested a historic agreement by U.S. lawmakers to overhaul financial regulations, while final readings on gross domestic product and consumer sentiment were on tap.

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U.S. lawmakers hammered out a rewrite of Wall Street rules as dawn broke, though the reform must still win approval from both chambers of Congress before U.S. President Barack Obama can sign it into law.

Among the reforms, under a modified Volcker rule banks would face stricter limits on risky trading and investing, but could make small investments in private equity and hedge funds. Shares of the major banks were mixed in light premarket trade.

Technology shares will be in focus after Oracle Corp reported quarterly profit that beat expectations as sales of new software rose. Oracle was up 4 percent at $23.08.

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd's shipments and subscribers fell short of expectations, flaming fears it is losing market share to rivals like Apple Inc .

S&P 500 futures added 2.1 points and were above 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 rose 16 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.

The final estimate of first-quarter gross domestic product will be released at 8:30 a.m. EDT. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast 3.0 percent annualized growth, in line with the previous reading. See

The final reading for June consumer sentiment is expected at 9:55 a.m. EDT, with investors expecting a reading of 75.5, also in line with the preliminary figure.

Ahead of the weekend G20 summit in Toronto, officials downplayed differences between the United States and Europe over how quickly to shift from crisis-fighting mode to budgetary belt-tightening.

Concerns over BP Plc's ability to pay the rising cost of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico sent its U.S.-listed shares down 5.3 percent to $27.21 premarket.

BP said the relief well was on track and estimated it has spent $2.35 billion to respond to the biggest U.S. oil spill ever.

The S&P 500 fell for the fourth straight day on Thursday, hurt by fresh signs of consumer weakness and worries about stringent financial regulation.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)