Futures flat as oil offsets possible GE spinoff : US Business

By Kristina Cooke

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Thursday as reports of a possible spin-off at General Electric offset rising oil prices.

In addition, investor Carl Icahn has elected to move ahead with plans to run a dissident board slate at Yahoo, sources familiar with the matter said. Shares of Yahoo rose 2.2 percent to $27.75 after the bell on Wednesday.

General Electric Co may sell its appliance unit in an auction that could bring in $5 billion to $8 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site on Wednesday. GE shares also edged higher.

The price of oil rose and was near $125 a barrel, raising concerns about inflation and the impact on consumer spending. UBS bank sharply raised its projection for oil prices and said inflation risks from rising crude costs would put a global economic recovery in 2009-2010 at risk.

A number of Federal Reserve officials, including Chairman Ben Bernanke, are scheduled to speak in Chicago, with investors searching for clues on the outlook for interest rates.

Economic data includes the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's business index, April industrial production and initial jobless claims for the latest week.

"The focus today is going to be the Fed speakers and the economic data -- if there are signs of stabilization, the market could jump," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

S&P 500 futures rose 1.8 points, roughly in line with fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.

Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 5.5 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 13 points.

In Europe, shares were trading flat, weighed down by persistent concerns about the banking sector, while in Asia, stocks ended mixed.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday in light trading after a modest rise in consumer prices in April cooled inflation fears while Macy's Inc and Freddie Mac posted reassuring quarterly results.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry)

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