U.S. stock index futures rebounded ahead of the Wall Street open on Friday, keeping fears of a bear market at bay, though Twitter shares slid after Elon Musk put his $44 billion deal for the company temporarily on hold.

(Reuters) -Elon Musk put his $44-billion deal for Twitter Inc "temporarily on hold" on Friday while he awaits data on the proportion of its fake accounts, sending the shares in the social media platform plunging.

Shanghai's COVID-19 lockdown is wreaking havoc on companies' dividend-payment paperwork and bankers say it is delaying summertime dollar buying as some firms are unable to collect the signatures and company seals needed to process FX contracts.

The euro hovered near its weakest point since early 2017 on Friday after Russian sanctions led to disruptions in gas supplies to Europe, renewing fears about an economic slowdown in the euro zone.

Gold fell on Friday and was headed for a fourth consecutive weekly decline pressured by overall strength in the dollar on prospects of aggressive interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.

(Reuters) -Elon Musk on Friday put his $44-billion deal for Twitter Inc temporarily on hold, citing pending details in support of calculation that spam and fake accounts indeed represent less than 5% of users.