Stock index futures signal mixed Wall Street open

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 rising 0.2 percent, the Dow Jones futures down 0.2 percent and the Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.3 percent.

Apple stepped up audits of working conditions at major suppliers last year, discovering multiple cases of underage workers, discrimination and wage problems.

Samsung Electronics turned cautious on spending for the first time since the global financial crisis, keeping its annual investment plan unchanged at 2012 levels, as demand for computer chips wanes and the smartphone market slows.

Procter & Gamble , the world's top household products maker, and smaller rival Kimberly-Clark will kick off the earnings season for U.S. household products makers. Halliburton , the world's second-largest oilfield services company, is also due to report results.

Honeywell , the diversified U.S. manufacturer, will be in focus as it reports earnings, with modest growth in demand for systems used to manage large buildings expected to be offset by declining sales to the military.

The Commerce Department releases new home sales data for December at 1500 GMT. Economists forecast a total of 385,000 annualized units, compared with 377,000 in November.

Economic Cycle Research Institute releases its weekly index of economic activity for January 18 at 1530 GMT. In the prior week the index read 130.

European shares <.fteu3> rose 0.1 percent after a survey showed German business morale improved for a third consecutive month in January.

The smallest of gains gave the Standard & Poor's 500 its seventh straight winning day on Thursday, but the index failed to hold above the 1,500 line, restrained by Apple's worst day in more than four years.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 0.33 percent at the close, the S&P 500 <.spx> ended flat and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 0.74 percent. Most of the Nasdaq's loss was due to Apple's slide of more than 12 percent after disappointing earnings.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by Susan Fenton)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/p-rises-seventh-day-1-500-too-steep-003249283--sector.html

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