Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

After ending the previous session mostly lower, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the market, with the Dow futures up by just 19 points.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves as they look for additional clarity about the outlook for the markets following the volatility seen over the past few sessions.

A relatively quiet day on the U.S. economic front may also keep some traders on the sidelines following the release of a slew of data on Thursday.

Several key reports are due to be released next week, including the Commerce Department’s report on personal income and spending.

The report includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve and could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of the next Fed meeting the following week.

While the broader markets may show a lack of direction, the Dow is likely to benefit from an advance by shares of Procter & Gamble (PG).

Procter & Gamble is jumping by 2.4 percent in pre-market trading after the consumer producer giant reported better than expected fiscal third quarter results and raised its full-year sales guidance on higher prices.

Stocks staged a recovery attempt after coming under pressure in early trading on Thursday but moved back to the downside in the latter part of the session. The major averages finished the day firmly in negative territory.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained in the red. The Dow dipped 110.39 points or 0.3 percent to 33,786.62, the Nasdaq slid 97.67 points or 0.8 percent to 12,059.56 and the S&P 500 fell 24.73 points or 0.6 percent to 4,129.79.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slipped by 0.3 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index plunged by 2.0 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets are turning in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is just above the unchanged line and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.43 to $77.80 a barrel after plunging $1.87 to $77.37 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $11.80 to $2,019.10 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping $25.50 to $1,993.60 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 133.75 yen versus the 134.24 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0981 compared to yesterday’s $1.0970.

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