US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Facebook Debut

U.S. stock futures gained ground Friday as investors looked to Facebook Inc.’s initial public offering, although worries about Europe threatened to cast a cloud over the trading debut of the leading social-networking company.

Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJM2 +0.42% rose 45 points, or 0.4%, to 12,458.

S&P 500 futures SPM2 +0.39% gained 5.5 points to 1,306.80, while Nasdaq-100 futures NDM2 +0.20% added 6.5 points to 2,511.25.

David Morrison, senior market strategist at GFT Markets in London, said upside potential is limited by the aftereffects of Thursday’s losses, which saw the Dow industrials DJIA +0.15% drop for the 11th time in 12 sesseions.

The blue-chip benchmark is down nearly 3% for the week and is off 5.8% since the beginning of May.

“Suddenly, the mantra of ‘buy the dips’ no longer seems like sage, if somewhat cynical, trading advice. This means that market participants are having to readjust away from a tactic that has served them well for many months,” he said, in emailed comments.

Late Thursday, Moody’s Investors Service delivered downgrades for 16 Spanish banks. Although the ratings firm’s move wasn’t a surprise, it amplified fears about Spain’s troubled banking sector.

Spanish equities turned higher, however, amid unconfirmed talk of a potential short-selling ban on financial shares.

Facebook FB 0.00% late Thursday priced its IPO at $38 a share, coming in at the high end of its estimated range with a debut valued at $16 billion. Facebook’s IPO

The size of the deal makes Facebook the third-largest IPO ever in the U.S. market and the biggest debut since Visa Inc.’s $17.8 billion offering in March 2008, according to Renaissance Capital. The offering marks the largest tech-sector IPO on record.

Shares are expected to begin trading around 11 a.m. Eastern time on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol FB.

Nymex crude-oil futures CLM2 -0.81% fell 4 cents in electronic trade to $92.52 a barrel. Gold futures GCM2 +0.96% gained $13.60 an ounce to $1,588.50.

The ICE dollar index DXY -0.18% was up marginally and on track for a 15th straight daily gain.