Investors will be desperately seeking signs of relief on Wall Street Friday after this week's heavy selling in the backdrop of a deadly terrorist attack in Spain that erased the market's gains for the year.

S&P and Nasdaq futures pointed to a higher start for stocks after four straight losing sessions.

Stocks tumbled Thursday as investors worried about the terror attacks that killed more than 190 people in Madrid, where the nation began three days of mourning Friday. (For full coverage from CNN.com, click here.)

No major earnings reports are due Friday, but a key economic report could help snap the market's losing streak.

The University of Michigan will release its preliminary March reading of consumer sentiment. Economists polled by Briefing.com expect the index to rise modestly, to 95.0 from 94.4 last month.

Overseas, stocks fell in Asia and started sharply lower in Europe, but pared the declines by midday to trade slightly lower.

Treasury bond prices edged lower, pushing the yield on the 10-year note up to 3.73 percent from 3.69 late Thursday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

In currency trading, the dollar rose against the euro and the Japanese yen.

Stocks to watch Friday include Oracle, which reported higher earnings for the latest quarter Thursday but also gave lukewarm guidance for the current quarter.

Oracle Corp. (ORCL: Research, Estimates) shares rose initially after the report but then fell back, lost ground in after-hours trading, but then gained 10 cents to $12.35 a share in pre-market trading Friday. For more on the news, click here.

Dell Computer (DELL: Research, Estimates) is another tech bellwether that could see some attention Friday. J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley upgraded the PC maker to their equivalent recommended ratings, citing stock valuation and the prospects of a continuing recovery for hardware demand.

Shares of Dell gained 77 cents to $32.76 in pre-market trading.