European stock index futures pointed to higher open on Friday, as investors hope an Italian bond auction will show strong demand for the country's troubled debt and match the success of Thursday's Spanish bond sale, according to Reuters. At 0701 GMT, futures for Euro STOXX 50, for Germany's DAX and for France's CAC were up 0.8-1.0 percent. Italy will test investor appetite for its longer-term debt for the first time in 2012 on Friday, seeking to sell up to 4.75 billion euros of bonds.