Futures Rise; GDP Growth Revised to 1.6%

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures pointed to a higher open Friday as revised U.S. economic growth in the second quarter was slightly stronger than expected and as 3Par(PAR) accepted Dell's(DELL) offer to acquire the data storage company for $1.8 billion, or $27 a share, matching Hewlett-Packard's(HPQ) recently sweetened bid.

Investors were also awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments on the economic outlook.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up by 60 points at 10,027 and were 59 points above fair value. Futures for the S&P 500 were ahead by 7 points at 1052 and were 7 points above fair value, and Nasdaq futures were higher by 13 points and were 13 points above fair value.

Stocks weakened Thursday, and the Dow finished below 10,000 for the first time since July 6 as weak regional manufacturing data overshadowed a lower-than-expected decline in initial weekly jobless claims.

The Department of Commerce downwardly revised its gross domestic product estimate for the second quarter to 1.6%, from 2.4%, previously, exceeding expectations for the growth of 1.4% that economists had been expecting, according to Briefing.com.

The University of Michigan will give its final read on August consumer sentiment at 9:55 a.m. EDT. According to Briefing.com, Wall Street expects the level to rise to 70, from a previous reading of 69.6.

Perhaps the most anticipated event of Friday's session will come at 10 a.m. with Fed Chairman Bernanke's speech on the economic outlook at the Kansas City Fed's annual symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Investors hope the chairman will address whether he believes the recovery remains intact and what policy tools can be used to bolster the economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke

Japan's prime minister assured that he would take decisive action when necessary regarding the strengthening yen and has pressured the Bank of Japan to loosen its monetary policy, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Boeing(BA) pushed back the delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner to the first quarter of 2011, citing engine availability problems.

Tiffany(TIF) said fiscal second-quarter earnings rose 19% to $67.7 million, or 53 cents a share. Excluding certain items, the company earned 55 cents, beating the 53-cent average estimate of analysts surveyed by Briefing.com.

Late Thursday, TD Ameritrade(AMTD) disclosed a deal to repurchase up to 12 million shares of its common stock from Barclays(BCS).

In commodity markets, crude oil for October delivery was gaining 31 cents, to trade at $73.67 a barrel, and the December gold contract was ahead by $2, trading at $1,239.70 an ounce.