4:45 AM
NEW YORK | Fri Oct 22, 2010 5:55am EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower opening for Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, for the Dow Jones industrial average and for the Nasdaq all down by around 0.1 percent by 5:14 a.m. ET.
* Some caution was expected ahead of the conclusion of a Group of 20 meeting in South Korea, which is seeking to tackle economic imbalances and fend off the prospect of damaging currency devaluations.
* The dollar pared its losses on wariness over whether any clear agreement would be reached at the meeting, and the U.S. urged countries to avoid using their currencies to gain an economic advantage.
* U.S. corporate earnings in focus on Friday include Verizon Communications (VZ.N), which is expected to lose some ground for now to rival AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier of Apple's iPhone. Some analysts, however, are optimistic about the future amid speculation that the iPhone may finally come to Verizon customers next year.
* Other companies expected to report earnings include manufacturer Honeywell HON.L and oilfield service provider Schlumberger (SLB.N)
* In company news, AIA, the Asian life insurance arm of AIG (AIG.N), is set to raise $17.9 billion after pricing its Hong Kong IPO at the top of its range, as investors piled into a company with a wide footprint across rapidly growing Asia.
* Genzyme (GENZ.O) will meet investors in New York to argue its case for rejecting an $18.5 billion offer from French drugmaker Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA). The U.S. biotechnology company will provide a 2011 earnings forecast, which, if higher than analysts are expecting, could lead Sanofi to raise its bid.
* Wall Street edged higher late on in a choppy session on Thursday, buoyed by strong earnings but a firmer U.S. dollar limited gains.
* Shares in American Express (AXP.N) and SanDisk (SNDK.O) were among those to rise after the closing bell following the release of their earnings, while Baidu Corp (BIDU.O) slipped in extended trade after its results.
* On the economic front, two top Federal Reserve officials gave competing views on the need for more monetary stimulus to the U.S. economy, continuing a public debate over further easing even though the core view at the central bank appears to favor such a move.
* Growing speculation in recent weeks that the Fed will extend quantitative easing measures at its next meeting in November has put pressure on the dollar while boosting equities, but uncertainty over how much the central bank might inject into the economy has caused some choppiness in markets.
In Europe, the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 index of top shares was down 0.2 percent by 5:14 a.m. ET, with mining shares among the heaviest fallers.
(Reporting by Harpreet Bhal; Editing by Greg Mahlich)
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