* Palm shares down after weak outlook
* Credit Suisse upgrades Chevron
* Futures: S&P down 0.6 pts, Dow up 8, Nasdaq up 2.25
(Adds quote, Chevron upgrade, updates prices)
By Chuck Mikolajczak
NEW YORK, Sept 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were
little changed on Friday as investors sought to determine
whether a pullback is on the horizon after a 6-month rally and
braced for options expiration.
Analysts said investors were trying to decide if further
market gains were justified, with the benchmark S&P 500 now up
58 percent since early March lows.
"Today is an expiration day, and you tend to see very often
short term peaks or bottoms around then," said Barry Ritholtz,
director of equity research at Fusion IQ in New York.
"A lot of traders seem to be underinvested and have been
sitting on the sidelines as the market's just gone higher and
higher. We'll find out if this is the expiration that puts an
end to it."
S&P 500 futures <SPc2> fell 0.6 points and were slightly
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 <DJc2>
rose 8 points, and Nasdaq 100 <NDc2> futures gained 2.25
points.
Chevron Corp <CVX.N> gained 0.7 percent to $72.47 after
Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "neutral"
but said it expects major U.S. and European integrated oil
companies to struggle to boost production to 2020.
[]
Palm Inc <PALM.O> fell 3 percent to $14.01 after the
company gave a tepid second-quarter sales forecast and said it
plans to sell more shares, even as it reported a
smaller-than-expected loss due to sales of its new Pre
smartphone. For details, see []
Friday marks the quarterly expiration and settlement of
four different types of September equity futures and options
contracts -- a convergence known as quadruple witching that can
lead to greater volume and volatility as traders unwind
positions.
AMR Corp's <AMR.N> American Airlines will team up with
British Airways Plc <BAY.L> and Qantas Airways Ltd <QAN.AX> to
expand an alliance with cash-strapped Japan Airlines Corp
<9205.T>, two people with direct knowledge of the talks said.
The proposal, which would include a capital injection from
American Air but may not bring money from British Airways or
Qantas, is aimed at thwarting Delta Air Lines Inc <DAL.N>, a
member of a rival alliance that is also in talks to invest in
JAL. []
Boeing Co <BA.N> will garner attention after the head of
Airbus said in remarks in the Wall Street Journal Friday that
the European planemaker faces two further "difficult" years and
does not rule out making more production cuts to adjust to
demand. []
European shares were mixed on Friday after hitting an
11-month peak in the previous session, with banks slipping
after British regulators set tougher-than-expected terms on
Lloyds Banking Group PLC's <LLOY.L> exit from a government
scheme. []
Asian stocks retreated from 13-month highs on Friday and
commodity prices dipped after U.S. data gave a conflicting
picture about the strength of a recovery. []
U.S. stocks slipped Thursday after a three-day run-up on
concern that recent gains were overextended.
(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Jeffrey
Benkoe)
