Stock index futures signal slightly higher open

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.04 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.16 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.15 percent at 4 a.m. ET.

Verizon Communications Inc will be in focus after sources said it has hired advisers to prepare a possible $100 billion cash and stock bid to take full control of Verizon Wireless from joint venture partner Vodafone Group Plc .

European stocks dipped in morning trade, halting a sharp rally started earlier in the week, as a raft of mixed corporate earnings dented investors' appetite for equities. <.eu/>

A flurry of U.S. companies were set to report results on Thursday, including Amazon.com Inc , Bristol-Myers Squibb , Coca-Cola Enterprises , ConocoPhillips Harley-Davidson , Starbucks United Parcel Service and Exxon Mobil Corp .

Chipmaker LSI Corp reported quarterly results above analysts' estimates and forecast current-quarter revenue largely above expectations at a time when weak PC sales and a slow economy have created uncertainty about demand for storage controllers.

U.S. life insurer Aflac Inc , which counts on Japan for almost 80 percent of its business, reported a better-than-expected 13 percent rise in quarterly profit but a weaker yen took a big chunk out of its premium income. 0dbxun>

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-signal-slightly-higher-open-081750934--finance.html

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