* Recent drop in volatility may mean quiet expiration day
* Euro on track to post strongest week vs USD in 9 months
* Futures: Dow off 6 pts; S&P up 0.6; Nasdaq up 1.5
* For up-to-the-minute market news see []
(Updates prices, adds quote, byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, June 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were
little changed on Friday, following a late rally in a choppy
session on Wall Street as investors positioned for the
expiration of futures and options contracts.
Four types of June equity futures and options contracts
expire Friday, a convergence known as quadruple witching.
Traders expected a quiet session as volatility has receded
lately. For details see []
"I believe most of the action takes place early in the(expirations) week. You might have a volatile close, but most
of the real volatility precedes the expiration," said Peter
Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New
York.
"For most of the day, it is probably going to be a
non-event market, barring any unforeseen news."
S&P 500 futures <SPc1> up 0.6 of a point and were flat in
terms of 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>
dipped 6 points and Nasdaq 100 futures <NDc1> were up 1.5
point.
At Thursday's close, open interest in the SPDR S&P 500 fund
<SPY.P>, commonly called the "Spiders," showed calls and put
options clustered around the $110 strike. The SPDR is currently
down 0.5 percent at $111.58, which suggests the S&P 500 index
will likely close near the 1,110 level.
The euro, a yardstick used lately by traders to gauge risk
aversion, held at three-week highs against the U.S. dollar and
was on track for its second straight positive week and its
strongest week in percentage gains in at least nine months.
BP Plc <BP.L><BP.N> shares rose 2.7 percent to $32.57 in
premarket trading in New York after its chief executive
survived a bruising appearance before a U.S. congressional
committee and on hopes its $20 billion oil spill compensation
and clean-up fund will cap public anger. []
Motorola Inc <MOT.N> will buy back most of its debt and
pump the bulk of its remaining cash into a proposed spinoff of
its money-losing mobile devices unit, the Wall Street Journal
reported, citing sources. []
Private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co []
will buy Intelligence Ltd, a unit of cable broadcaster Usen
Corp <4842.OJ>, for 32.5 billion yen ($357 million) in its
first significant deal in Japan. []
A Democratic bill to extend jobless benefits and raise
taxes on investment fund managers failed a key vote in the U.S.
Senate on Thursday, dealing a blow to U.S. President Barack
Obama's push to boost the economy. []
U.S. stocks edged higher on Thursday in a choppy, thinly
traded session as investors built on momentum after the S&P 500
index broke through its 200-day moving average earlier this
week.
The S&P 500 has held above the average since Tuesday in a
bullish signal, but could find resistance near the 1,121 level,
a key technical level that marks the 50 percent retracement of
its decline from the October 2007 historic highs to the lows of
March 2009.
(Additional reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey
Benkoe)
