Futures signal higher Wall St start before Bernanke
* U.S. stock index futures point to a higher opening on Wall Street on Friday, helped by better-than-expected corporate results from GAP (GPS.N) and with all eyes on a speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
* By 0938 GMT, S&P 500 futures SPc1, Dow Jones futures DJc1 and Nasdaq 100 futures NDc1 are up between 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent.
* Fed Chairman Bernanke tackles financial stability as he speaks with central bankers, who are gathered for their annual meeting in the mountain resort of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as financial markets tense for more losses from home loans, amid concern that U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM.N) and Freddie Mac (FRE.N) will need government cash.
Economists doubt he will provide solid clues about future policy action to calm the credit crunch. Bernanke speaks at 1000 ET/1400 GMT. [nLM426329]
* Gap reported a 50 percent jump in quarterly net income late on Thursday, beating Wall Street estimates, as cost-cutting, lower inventories and other moves that boosted profit offset declining sales at its family of clothing stores. Shares of Gap Inc, which owns the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains, rose 4 percent in after-hours trading.
* Stocks of advertising firms will be in focus after WPP (WPP.L) beat market expectations for first-half sales and profits and stuck to its full-year profit target on Friday although it said a slowdown that began in May continued in July.
* Engineering groups will also be in the spotlight after Sulzer (SUN.S), which makes pumps for the oil and gas industry as well as surface coatings for jet engines, raised its mid-range margin targets on Friday when it posted a 20 percent rise in first-half net profit as the group benefits from upbeat demand in the oil and gas market.
* On the M&A front, Aon Corp AOC.N, the world's No.1 insurance broker, has made a recommended cash offer for Benfield BFD.L valuing the UK-listed broker at $1.6 billion.
* U.S. mobile service provider Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ.N) is nearing an agreement with Google Inc. (GOOG.O) on a wide-ranging partnership, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the situation.
* State-run Korea Development Bank [KDB.UL] said on Friday Lehman Brothers LEH.N was one of its options for acquisitions, reviving expectations that the U.S. investment bank might still bring in a large investor.
* Banc of America Securities analyst Michael Hecht cut his earnings outlook on U.S. investment banks Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) to reflect a tough fixed-income sales and trading environment, and a downward trend in equity markets.
* It is quiet on the earnings front, with no S&P 500 companies expected to report results on Friday, while the only economic indicator expected is the ECRI Weekly Index, due at 1030 ET/1430 GMT.
* The Dow and S&P 500 rose on Thursday as surging oil prices propelled energy shares higher even as fresh fears of more credit losses on Wall Street kept gains modest and pushed the Nasdaq into negative territory. (Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Karen Foster)
