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US STOCKS-Wall St set to open higher on Oracle outlook

Published 03/25/2011, 09:23 AM
Updated 03/25/2011, 09:24 AM

* Final Q4 GDP revised up to 3.1 pct

* Oracle signals strong tech spend, shares rise

* BlackBerry maker RIM slips after disappointing outlook

* Futures up: S&P 2 pts, Dow 16 pts, Nasdaq 5.75 pts (Updates with GDP data, quote)

By Angela Moon

NEW YORK, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were poised for a higher open on Friday as an upbeat outlook from Oracle boosts technology stocks.

Analysts increased price targets on Oracle Corp shares after the business software maker forecast a rise in new software sales in its fiscal fourth quarter. The optimistic view fueled hopes a global resurgence in technology spending remained intact. The stock rose 4.7 percent at $33.66 in premarket trade.

BlackBerry maker Research In Motion Ltd, however, said earnings would slip as it spends heavily on the launch of its PlayBook tablet, sending its stock down 11.2 percent at $56.88 premarket.

In what could be a further boost to techs, Accenture, the technology outsourcing and consulting company, also raised its outlook, reflecting a recovery in corporate investment. The stock was up 8.2 percent at $56.20 after a number of brokerages raised price targets.

U.S. gross domestic product growth for the fourth quarter was revised to an annualized rate of 3.1 percent from 2.8 percent as businesses maintained fairly solid spending .

"When you get an upward revision, along with some very good earnings out of Oracle, that will give more confidence that even with uncertainty in the rest of the world, we're on a good footing here, and that will help stocks," said Elizabeth Miller, president of Summit Place Financial Advisors in Summit, New Jersey.

S&P 500 futures were up 2 points, 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 gained 16 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 5.75 points.

U.S. stocks rose Thursday on optimism about upcoming earnings and as investors bought the quarter's top performers, lifting the S&P 500 above the technical level. The S&P 500 is up 2.5 percent so far this week, and the Dow has gained 2.6 percent. Nasdaq has put on 3.5 percent.

Further gains above the widely watched S&P 500 resistance level of 1,300 "is likely to trigger more buying heading into quarter-end (and) into the first few weeks of April," said Robert Sluymer, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets LLC in New York.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey is due at 9:55 a.m. EDT (1355 GMT).

Euro zone debt problems may still linger in the back of investors' minds as Standard & Poor's downgraded Portugal's credit ratings to its second lowest investment grade rating and said it could cut again, depending on the final shape of the euro zone bailout fund.

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