U.S. stock index futures signal higher Wall St open

LONDON, July 13 (Reuters) - * U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Wall Street on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 100 all up 0.2 percent.

* European equities rose 0.3 percent as growth data from China proved no worse than feared but weak enough to keep alive hopes for more official stimulus for the economy.

* Chinese growth slowed for a sixth successive quarter to its slackest pace in more than three years, highlighting the need for more policy vigilance from Beijing even as signs emerge that action taken so far is beginning to stabilise the economy.

* Moody's surprised markets by cutting Italy's credit rating by two notches and warning it could cut it further, piling pressure on the euro zone's third-largest economy ahead of a 5.25 billion euro bond sale.

* U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, hit by more warnings in the technology sector. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.3 percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index fell 0.5 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.8 percent.

* The Labor Department releases the June Producer Price Index at 1230 GMT. Economists forecast a 0.5 percent fall, compared with a 1.0 percent drop in May. Excluding volatile food and energy items, PPI is expected to rise 0.2 percent, a repeat of the May increase.

* Ahead of JPMorgan Chase & Co results around the market open, the Wall Street Journal reported three employees from the chief investment office, including Bruno Iksil known as the "London whale", had left the bank. The paper said bets made by the bankers on certain corporate credit indexes led to just over $5 billion in losses in the second quarter.

* Wells Fargo is also set to announce results and is expected to report a sharp rise in profits.

* The world's dominant aircraft makers left a rain-swept Farnborough Airshow without the order deluge some had predicted although Boeing won 50 percent more firm orders than its arch-rival Airbus, helping it recover ground after falling behind last year.  * The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan July preliminary consumer sentiment index is released at 1355 GMT. Economists expect a reading of 73.4, against 73.2 in the final June report.

* The ECRI weekly index of economic activity is also due at 1430 GMT. In the prior week, the index read 121.9. (Reporting by Atul Prakash; editing by Patrick Graham)