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Reuters Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.21 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.17 percent and Nasdaq100 futures flat at 0725 GMT 3:25 a.m. ET.

The Labor Department is due to release the August employment report at 1230 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey forecast 100,000 jobs were lost in the month compared with 131,000 lost in July. The unemployment rate is seen at 9.6 percent, compared with a 9.5 percent rate in the prior month.

The nonfarm payrolls will probably show a hit from a combination of the fading boost from census hiring, a reluctance by firms to add staff and relentless layoffs at cash-strapped state and local governments.

Economic indicators on tap for Friday also include the Institute for Supply Managements services sector report, while on the earnings front, Campbell Soup Co CPB.N is the only S&P 500 company scheduled to post quarterly results Friday.

Tech shares will be in focus after Samsung Electronics Co Ltd 005930.KS, the worlds No.2 handset maker, expects to sell up to 25 million smartphones this year, exceeding its earlier target, and aims to double shipments next year, media reports said on Friday.

On the M&A front, Canadas Goldcorp Inc G.TO agreed to buy gold miner Andean Resources Ltd AND.TO for $3.2 billion, trumping a competing offer from rival Eldorado Gold Corp ELD.TO EAU.AX.

BP Plc BP.LBP.N said on Friday the cost of dealing with its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico had risen to $8 billion and that it was a fortnight away from sealing the well for good.

Video game maker Take-Two Interactive Inc TTWO.O on Thursday smashed Wall Street expectations for its fiscal third quarter and raised its forecast for the current fourth quarter, citing strong sales for its "Red Dead Redemption" title. Shares of Take-Two traded in Frankfurt TTWO.F were up 18 percent.

H&R Block Inc HRB.N posted a narrower-than-expected quarterly loss as the No. 1 U.S. tax preparer cut costs in the face of stiff competition from Intuit Inc INTU.O and said it expects to sell about 150 more offices before the next tax season.

European shares were up 0.2 percent in morning trade, while Tokyos Nikkei average rose 0.6 percent, as more positive data reassured investors about the health of the global economic recovery.

U.S. stocks rose on low volume on Thursday as data showed improvement in housing and the job market a day ahead of the critical monthly payrolls figures. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI added 50.63 points, or 0.49 percent, to 10,320.10. The Standard & Poors 500 Index .SPX rose 9.81 points, or 0.91 percent, to 1,090.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 23.17 points, or 1.06 percent, to close at 2,200.01.

Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Mike Nesbit

SYDNEY Reuters Canadas Goldcorp Inc G.TO agreed to buy gold miner Andean Resources Ltd AND.TO for C$3.6 billion $3.4 billion, trumping a competing offer from rival Eldorado Gold Corp ELD.TO EAU.AX.

The takeover is the latest in a series of mining deals this year, including Australias Newcrest Minings NCM.AX $8.4 billion purchase of rival Lihir Gold, as gold prices are hovering near a record high with global economic uncertainty driving investors to safer havens.

Goldcorp said its cash and share offer, at C$6.50 per share, was expected to close in late 2010 or early 2011 and had been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

Goldcorps offer topped Eldorados all-share bid, worth C$6.36 a share, made hours earlier after the companies failed to agree.

Goldcorps offer puts a 35 percent premium to Andean Resources last traded price on the Toronto exchange. Andean Australian-listed shares AND.AX jumped 30.9 percent in Sydney trading to A$6.40 before it was placed on trading halt.

"Andeans plan to sell does not come as a surprise. It was set up to be taken over at some stage. It was a question of how and what price. The pricing and the premium looks pretty reasonable. There might be a small window to move," said Tim Barker, Portfolio Manager at BT Financial Group.

Goldcorp said Andeans principal asset was its 100-percent owned Cerro Negro Gold project in the southern province of Santa Cruz in Argentina, which would add to its gold production pipeline.

Cerro Negro is the companys advanced-stage gold exploration project, which preliminary studies suggest may have resource of 3.1 million ounces of gold and 25 million ounces of silver as of March 2010, according to the companys website.

The mining sector is leading the global M&A activity, which recorded $267 billion worth of deals in August, making it the biggest month since June 2009, Thomson Reuters data showed.

The materials sector has seen a 30 percent rise in deals with global miner BHP Billiton BHP.AX leading the charge with a $39 billion offer for Canadas Potash POT.TO.

$1=1.052 Canadian dollar Additional reporting by Krishna N. Das in Bangalore; Editing by Valerie Lee