U.S. futures higher on global rebound; Dow Jones up 0.61%

U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open on Friday, as global markets rebounded after posting heavy losses on Thursday due to comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday. 

Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.61% gain, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.75% increase, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.61% rise. 

Stocks came under pressure after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the bank could begin slowing asset purchases by the end of 2013 and wind them down completely by the middle of 2014 if the economy picks up as the central bank expects. 

However, a string of mixed U.S. economic reports on Thursday fuelled uncertainty over the strength of the country's economic recovery. 

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia said that its manufacturing index rose to 12.5 in June from minus 5.2 in May, outstripping expectations for a reading of minus 2.0 and rising at the fastest pace since April 2011. 

The data came after the Department of Labor said the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits last week rose by 18,000 to a seasonally adjusted 354,000, a three-week high, compared to expectations for an increase of 4,000 to 340,000. 

Tech stocks were expected to be active, after Oracle announced late Thursday that it missed forecasts for software sales and subscriptions for the second straight quarter, sending shares down 8.16% in after-hour trade. 

Separately, Apple gained 0.56% pre-market after the tech giant made a final pitch to defend itself against U.S. charges it led publishers in a scheme to fix the prices for electronic books. 

In company news, Sprint Nextel raised its buyout offer for Clearwire to USD5 per share late on Thursday and announced support from a key group of dissident shareholders, trumping rival suitor Dish Network. 

Sprint shares edged up 0.14% in pre-market trade. 

AT&T was up 0.44% in early trading amid report it explored potential deals in the last two months including buying part of Telefonica or some of its foreign assets. 

Other stocks in focus included CarMax and Darden Restaurants, due to report earnings before the start of trade. 

Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were sharply higher. The EURO STOXX 50 gained 0.99%, France’s CAC 40 jumped 1.16%, Germany's DAX advanced 0.65%, while Britain's FTSE 100 rallied 1.16%. 

During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.59%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index surged 2.62%. 

Trading volumes were expected to remain light, as no U.S. data was scheduled to be released throughout the day.