Stocks Look Flat at Open; Dell in Focus NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to flat open on Friday after top personal computer maker Dell Inc. (DELL.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) posted earnings that reflected slow sales in the consumer market and offered an outlook that disappointed Wall Street. The stock was about 2 percent lower in European trading early Friday. But optimism about further merger and acquisition activity was countering some that sour sentiment. The Wall Street Journal reported that talks between Verizon Communications (VZ.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) and MCI (MCIP.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) have advanced, and the two companies could announce a merger in the next two days. "There is a burst in confidence with the M&A activity and rumors and that is bringing momentum into the market," said Will Armitage, senior trader at spread betting firm IG Index in London. "Dell will weigh on some of technology shares. But if we were to expect a sell-off in technology shares we would have seen it in the futures and that has not materialized." S&P 500 futures (SPH5: Quote , Profile , Research ) were up 1.20 points, about even with fair value accounting for interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial index futures (DJH5: Quote , Profile , Research ) were up 5 points, while Nasdaq 100 (NDH5: Quote , Profile , Research ) futures climbed 3.5 points higher. EBay Inc. (EBAY.O: Quote , Profile , Research ) , the online market place, will be watched after the company said it was on track to meet its 2005 targets. eBay's new outlook comes weeks after it missed Wall Street's earnings expectations when it reported fourth-quarter results and its shares fell sharply. In after-hours trading on Inet shares of eBay weakened 47 cents or 0.6 percent to $80.75. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal said the world's biggest drug company Pfizer Inc. (PFE.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) plans to cut about $2 billion in costs and overhaul the way it markets drugs to doctors. U.S. light crude (CLc1: Quote , Profile , Research ) was up 11 cents to $47.21 in electronic trading. High oil prices hurt equities in general because they weigh on corporate profits and consumer spending, but shares of energy companies gain. U.S. blue chips closed at a 2005 high on Thursday helped by strong economic data and an uptick in insurance and oil company shares. The Dow Jones industrial average was up 85.50 points, or 0.80 percent, at 10,749.61. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 5.02 points, or 0.42 percent, at 1,197.01. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 0.55 point, or 0.03 percent, at 2,053.10. Quelle "Stocks Look Flat at Open; Dell in Focus" : reuters.com Main page for "Stocks Look Flat at Open; Dell in Focus"