Stocks were set for a higher open on Friday, after a week-long sell-off as oil prices stabilized.

The market showed signs of recovery Thursday afternoon, trimming early losses to close well off lows.

Brent crude futures rose near $112 a barrel, backing off highs after a senior industry source said Saudi Arabia, a big oil exporter, was increasing output.

The easing fears over energy prices offset data showing the U.S. economy grew slower than initially estimated in the fourth quarter.

S&P 500 futures rose 8 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 gained 70 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures added 19.75 points.

Global markets have been pressured by worries the political unrest in Libya could spread to other major oil-producing countries, causing energy prices to spike at the expense of a fragile global economic recovery.

The S&P 500 index <.SPX> is down 2.7 percent so far this week, while the Dow <.DJI> is off 2.6 percent.

The Dow remains below its 10-day and 20-day moving averages, and resistance could materialize near the 12,150 to 12,200 region. Support remains near 12,000, said Joseph Hargett, an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The U.N. Security Council was to meet to discuss sanctions against Libya leaders who are locked in a bloody battle for survival against a popular uprising.

In company news, Boeing Co rose 3.9 percent to $73.50 in premarket trade after the planemaker said late Thursday it won a $30 billion contract to build 179 new U.S. Air Force refueling planes.

Financial stocks could be in focus after FBR Capital Markets said the U.S. Federal Reserve may allow banks that have repaid bailout funds to return as much as 50 percent of their earnings to shareholders.

Banks were higher in the premarket, with the financial SPDR ETF up 1.2 percent. Bank of America Corp gained 1 percent to $14.12 and Wells Fargo & Co rose 2.6 percent to 32.25.

(Reporting by Angela Moon editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Libya