US futures point to higher Wall Street open

* Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average DJc1 were up 0.2 percent, for the Nasdaq 100 NDc1 up 0.3 percent and for the S&P 500 SPc1 up 0.04 percent.

* European shares gained for a second straight session on Friday, led higher by mining and financial stocks, with Barclays (BARC.L) jumping on media reports the bank is in talks to sell its asset management arm.

* Abercrombie & Fitch's (ANF) first-quarter earnings are likely to show the impact of the clothing retailer's aversion to price discounts with analysts expecting the company to announce a loss per share of $0.12 compared with a profit of $0.69 a year ago.

* J.C. Penney (JCP) stunned Wall Street, raising its first-quarter outlook for a second time in less than two weeks. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings per share at $0.11 compared with $0.54 a year ago.

* Shares in Nordstrom Inc (JWN.N) jumped 5 percent to $22 after the bell on Thursday after the upscale department store operator posted first-quarter results. For details, see [ID:nWNAB9890]

* Shares in Chemed Corp (CHE.N) slid more than 10 percent to $37 after the bell on Thursday following news that a subsidiary of the hospice-care provider has been slapped with a subpoena by the U.S. Department of Justice. For details, see [ID:nWEN9157]

* Federal Officials have pressured Bank of America (BAC.N) to revamp its board by bringing in directors with banking experience, as regulators place the bank under increasingly heavy government scrutiny.

* Economists in the latest Wall Street Journal survey see an end to the recession by the autumn, but say it will take years for the economy to fully recover.

* U.S. CPI figures are released at 1230 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect an unchanged reading compared with a 0.1 percent drop in March.

* The New York Federal Reserve releases its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for May at 1230 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of -12 compared with -14.65 in April.

* At 1315 GMT the Federal Reserve releases industrial production and capacity utilisation data for April. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a 0.6 percent drop in production and a reading of 68.8 percent for capacity utilization.

* The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers release May preliminary consumer sentiment index at 1355 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 67 compared with 65.1 in the final April report. (Reporting by Joanne Frearson; Editing by Greg Mahlich)