Stock Futures Indicate Mixed U.S. Open

Premarket futures were forecasting a narrowly mixed open for stocks in the U.S., as investors contended with a mixed bag of reports about the highly volatile financial sector.

Futures for the S&P 500 were up 2 points at 1254 and were 3.5 points above fair value. Nasdaq futures were up a point to 1783, but were 1.2 points below fair value.

On Thursday, the major indices opened with wide losses as traders hammered away at financial-services names Lehman Brothers (LEH Quote) and Washington Mutual (WM Quote). However, stocks staged a sharp rally in the final minutes of trading, sending WaMu shares higher as Lehman continued to languish. ...