* Investors bracing for second-quarter GDP data
* Disney shares lower after results
* Chevron due to posts results before the bell
* For up-to-the-minute market news click []
(Adds quote, byline; updates prices)
By Ellis Mnyandu
NEW YORK, July 31 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures
edged higher on Friday as investors bet that key economic data
will show the economic slump is ebbing.
A string of stronger-than-expected second-quarter results
have helped reinforce some optimism about economic
stabilization. Companies posting solid results early Friday
included Constellation Energy Group Inc <CEG.N>.
The government will release second-quarter gross domestic
product figures, a measure of all goods and services produced
within the U.S. borders, at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT).
A Reuters poll of economists showed a median forecast of a
1.5 percent contraction in the economy in the second quarter on
a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, compared with a more
dramatic 5.5 percent contraction in the first quarter.
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> were 4 points higher and above fair
value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account
interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the
contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures <DJc1> climbed
36 points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc1> futures rose 5.75 points.
"GDP is going to be negative, and everyone knows we're
going to get that second-half rebound. So in a sense it's old
news, but at least it provides a baseline for what the second
half of 2009 is going to be," said Peter Boockvar, equity
strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.
"We are rallying because everyone expects to see a pickup
in the second half of the year and it's just going to be a
matter of to what degree."
Boockvar added that the market might also get a boost from
so-called window dressing -- when traders ditch laggards in
favor of winners to spruce up client portfolios at the end of
the month.
U.S. President Barack Obama sought to prepare the country
for the second-quarter GDP figures Thursday.
"I suspect that the GDP numbers will still show that the
economy contracted in the second quarter (and) that job loss is
still a huge problem," Obama told reporters in the Oval Office.
(For story, see [])
Stocks to watch include oil company Chevron Corp <CVX.N>, a
Dow component, scheduled to post quarterly results before the
bell.
Walt Disney Co <DIS.N> is also in the spotlight after the
media and entertainment powerhouse reported a 26 percent slide
in quarterly earnings late Thursday as the recession continued
to hurt advertising and consumer spending. Even though Disney
beat expectations by a hair, its shares fell more than 3
percent at $25.29 in premarket trading.
With Friday marking the end of July, the Dow was on track
for its best monthly percentage gain since October 2002, while
the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq will likely mark their fifth
straight month of gains.
At Thursday's close, the Dow was up 8.38 percent for the
month of July, while the S&P 500 had added 7.34 percent and the
Nasdaq had gained 8.13 percent.
U.S. stocks rose Thursday as several companies posted solid
profits and data showed a drop in the number of Americans on
jobless benefits fueled recovery hopes.
Hopes that the recession that started in December 2007 is
moderating have underpinned a rally in U.S. stocks since early
March, when the benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX> hit a 12-year low.
(Reporting by Ellis Mnyandu; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
