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US STOCKS-Futures edge up ahead of confidence, inflation data

Published 05/13/2011, 07:59 AM
Updated 05/13/2011, 08:04 AM
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* Commodity prices rise as U.S. dollar weakens

* Consumer confidence, CPI data on tap

* Futures: Dow up 16 pts, S&P up 2 pts, Nasdaq flat

* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates prices, adds comment, byline)

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged up on Friday ahead of key inflation and consumer confidence data that will give investors a chance to reassess recent volatility of the commodities market.

Declines in commodities, including crude oil and silver, have hurt risk appetite and prompted traders to brace for further unwinding of dollar-funded bets on risk assets.

The euro rose against the U.S. dollar, giving support to commodity prices on Friday, after strong growth data in France and Germany bolstered speculation that a healthy euro zone economy would keep interest rates there higher than in the United States.

Three-month copper gained 1.9 percent and both Brent and NYMEX crude oil futures rose near 1 percent, with U.S. light crude hovering around $100 per barrel.

Silver bounced back about 2 percent after two days of declines. The iShares Silver Trust gained 3.8 percent to $34.50 in premarket trade.

"There's probably some value to be had in equities given the selling that's been going on in the past weeks," said John Brady, senior vice president at MF Global in Chicago.

"The bloodletting in commodities has ceased, so there may be some stabilization trade or maybe bargain hunters out there."

The S&P 500 fell 1.7 percent last week and has risen 0.6 percent since Friday's close.

S&P 500 futures rose 2 points and were above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration of the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 16 points and Nasdaq 100 futures were flat.

The Labor Department releases its April Consumer Price Index at 8:30 a.m. (1230 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect a 0.4 percent rise compared with a 0.5 percent increase in March.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary consumer sentiment index for May is due at 9:55 a.m. (1355 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 70.0 compared with 69.8 in the final April report.

"The recent sell-off in commodities may give the consumer the sense food and energy prices may not be heading significantly higher from here," said MF Global's Brady.

He said the killing of Osama bin Laden and the higher prices at the pump would affect consumer confidence.

Nordstrom Inc will be a focus after the retailer forecast 2011 profit below forecasts. [ID:nN12113732]

Yahoo Inc shares fell 6.5 percent in premarket trade after it said the Alibaba Group restructured the ownership of Alipay, one of China's largest online payment businesses, without the knowledge of Yahoo and Softbank, two of its stakeholders. [ID:nN12125783].

Defensive shares led a rebound in U.S. stocks on Thursday as investors weighed mixed economic signals and volatility in commodity prices. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

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