BEFORE THE BELL: US Stock Futures Eder Up After Google Miss

By Steve Goldstein U.S. stock futures traded in a tight range Friday, as relief over Goldman Sachs and BP liabilities is checked by worries over the economy as well as Google's dimmer-than-hoped earnings growth. Ahead of key reports from General Electric Co. (GE), Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America Corp. (BAC), futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 3 points to 10295. S&P 500 futures rose 1.8 points to 1092.20 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 1.5 points to 1850.70. Major U.S. stock indexes finished Thursday with little movement, as a raft of sour economic data as well as mixed interpretations of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s (JPM) earnings were met by reports--proved accurate after the markets closed--that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) settled allegations of fraud brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission. BP PLC (BP, BP.LN) also jumped after stemming the oil flowing from the Gulf of Mexico, though the oil giant still hasn't permanently sealed the well. Goldman Sachs agreed to pay $550 million to settle the suit, prompting Bank of America Merrill Lynch analysts to upgrade its rival to buy. The broker also lifted its price target for the stock to $182 from $160, saying the probability of other significant legal issues arising from the mortgage debacle is very low. "Specifically, we believe that the settlement of this case significantly reduces the probability of any criminal charges by the Department of Justice," the broker said. Goldman Sachs rose nearly 5% in early premarket trade. But Google Inc. (GOOG) may see pressure as the online search giant reported a smaller-than-forecast 24% rise in second-quarter profit. The company itself was optimistic. "For us at Google, it's been a great quarter," Google Chief Financial Officer Patrick Pichette said during a conference call with analysts. "We've seen no impact of what's going on in the macro world," he added, in reference to some recent signs of economic instability. The economic calendar features June consumer prices and May Treasury inflows, and shortly after the open, the University of Michigan's preliminary consumer confidence gauge for July. The euro hit a two-month high against the dollar, and the Japanese yen also rose. Asian equities were hit hard, with the Nikkei 225 slammed 2.9% in Tokyo, though Europe stocks edged higher, with the Stoxx Europe 600 up 0.2%. -By Steve Goldstein; 44 2078 429 424; AskNewswires@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 16, 2010 06:07 ET (10:07 GMT)