Before the bell: Stocks set for a lower open as investors watch government's plans

U.S. stocks were set for a mixed start as early Friday morning, S&P 500 and Dow Industrials futures were a little higher, while Nasdaq futures were negative. From the beginning of the week, Wall Street has been watching the unfolding plans for bailing out the financial market, stimulating the economy and aiding the housing market. While the financial bailout plan has been poorly received due to lack of details, the $790 billion economic stimulus package still hasn't passed, not to mention investors are becoming more and more skeptical as to its success.

Update 7:50 am: Stocks are set for a higher open as all three stock index futures turned positive.

Update 8:50 am: Stock market futures all turned negative as stocks are now set for a lower start without much in the way of news.

On Thursday, the reported government plan to subsidize troubled homeowners' mortgage payments impressed investors the most and helped stocks recover from a sharp sell-off.