US STOCKS-Stocks eye best week in a year

* National ISM survey, consumer confidence on tap

* Volatility seen ahead of holiday weekend

* Futures up: Dow 15 pts, S&P 0.6 pt, Nasdaq 2 pts

* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US] (Adds Oshkosh)

By Edward Krudy

NEW YORK, July 1 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were poised to record their best week in nearly a year on Friday as index futures ticked higher and investors looked ahead to key national manufacturing data, with confidence growing that the economic slowdown could be temporary.

Equities have rallied for four straight days, rebounding from a spate of weakness over the last two months. Moves to avert a debt crisis in Europe and surprisingly strong regional business data helped lift some of the gloom on Wall Street.

The ISM's index of national factory activity at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT) is expected to show the economy slowed in June, slipping to 51.8 from 53.5 in May. But investors will be on the lookout for a positive surprise after Thursday's Chicago PMI index beat forecasts.

"What you are seeing is investors are realizing that the economy is not going to recover as they hoped, but it's not going to be as bad as they fear," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in New York.

"You're starting to settle into a realization that stocks are probably priced somewhere around where they should be, and I think you are going to continue to have this back and fourth movement," said Meckler.

S&P 500 futures added 0.6 point and were 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 gained 15 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 2 points.

Meckler said volume would likely be low on the last day before a holiday-shortened week, which could increase volatility. Markets are closed on Monday for the U.S. Independence Day holiday.

Investors are looking ahead to second-quarter earnings, which get underway in the second week of July. They will pay close attention to corporate forecasts, given the weakness in the economy.

Other data scheduled for release later in the day include the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for June at 9:55 a.m. EDT (1355 GMT) and construction spending at 10 a.m. EDT (1400 GMT). Consumer sentiment was seen little changed at 71.9, while construction spending is expected to be flat in May.

U.S. stocks ended a volatile quarter Thursday with their biggest four-day rally since September as positive economic data and a temporary resolution of Greece's debt crisis indicated further gains in July. Major indexes were on course for their best week since the middle of July 2010.

The S&P 500 <.SPX> climbed above resistance at its 50-day moving average at 1,317, establishing another floor in the market after the index moved above a number of technical resistance levels.

In company news, Apple Inc and Research In Motion Ltd are part of a winning consortium of six companies buying bankrupt Nortel Networks Corp's remaining patent portfolio for $4.5 billion in a hotly contested auction that saw Google Inc and Intel Corp lose out. For details, see [ID:nL3E7I10H]

Oshkosh Corp jumped more than 8 percent in extended trade Thursday after Carl Icahn said he wants to meet with the management at the specialty truck maker to discuss enhancing shareholder value. The billionaire investor owned about 9.5 percent of Oshkosh shares as of June 20. [ID:nN1E75T203]

In Europe, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares <.FTEU3> were nearly flat. The Nikkei <.NK225> share average climbed to a seven-week high, rising 0.5 percent. (Reporting by Edward Krudy; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)