* Nvidia revenue outlook a bullish sign for techs
* S&P 500 has fallen in 11 of last 14 sessions
* Retail sales, consumer sentiment data on tap
* Futures up: Dow 72 pts, S&P 5.8 pts, Nasdaq 6.25 pts
* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Updates prices, adds analyst comment)
By Ryan Vlastelica
NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) - U.S. futures were higher on Friday, signaling stocks would extend the previous day's big gains, after a rally in Europe and another strong outlook from a technology company.
Major indexes soared 4 percent on Thursday as valuations became attractive enough to entice buyers following a wave of fear that brought the S&P 500 near bear market territory.
It was the fourth day in a row the S&P ended with a move of more than 4 percent, and the index has fallen for 11 of the past 14 days.
European shares gained early Friday, rising 2.3 percent following the short-selling ban on financial shares by France, Italy, Spain and Belgium and as European Central Bank data eased fears some banks faced liquidity issues. [.EU]
Nvidia Corp
Nvidia's results came after similarly bullish comments from
Cisco Systems Inc
For investors, concerns over slowing U.S. growth and fiscal problems on both sides of the Atlantic have mattered more than an earnings season in which a majority of companies topped profit and revenue expectations.
"The more companies that are positive about how they might do over the next six months, the more confidence investors will have that the price they're paying for stocks is fair," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in New York.
"Having companies project solid sales in the coming year will be a big part of this market moving back forward."
S&P 500 futures
Investors are looking ahead to July retail sales, which are seen rising 0.5 percent, or 0.2 percent, excluding auto sales. Both metrics represent gains from the previous month. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT. (1230 GMT)
The preliminary August Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers sentiment index will also be released, and is seen at 63 versus 63.7 in the previous month. The report comes at 9:55 a.m. EDT. (1355 GMT)
"The data isn't especially critical, but if they're outliers to expectations it may add some instability," Meckler said. "If not, it's likely we'll continue to take some cues from Europe."
While bargain hunting spurred Thursday's strong gains, many traders still looked for a bottom in the market. (Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)