Futures Pointing To Narrowly Mixed Open On Wall Street

Following the pullback seen in the previous session, stocks may experience choppy trading early on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a narrowly mixed open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by 0.1 percent but the Nasdaq 100 futures down by 0.1 percent.

Uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates may lead to a lackluster performance on Wall Street following the recent release of a batch of inflation data.

While reports released earlier in the week showed consumer and producer prices both rose by a little more than expected in September, the Labor Department released a report this morning showing only a slight uptick in U.S. import prices.

The Labor Department said import prices crept up by 0.1 percent in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in August.

Economists had expected the pace of import price growth to match the 0.5 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the report said export prices advanced by 0.7 percent in September after jumping by a downwardly revised 1.1 percent in August.

Export prices were expected to climb by 0.5 percent compared to the 1.3 percent surge originally reported for the previous month.

Early trading may also be impacted by reaction to earnings news from financial giants JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Citigroup (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC).

Shares of JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo are also moving higher in pre-market trading after the companies reported better than expected third quarter revenue.

Shortly after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is due to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of October. The consumer sentiment index is expected to slip to 67.4 in October after falling to 68.1 in September.

The report includes readings on short-term and long-term inflation expectations that could impact the outlook for interest rates.

Stocks moved mostly lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday, giving back ground after trending higher over the past several sessions. The major averages showed a lack of direction early in the session before coming under pressure in the early afternoon.

The major averages climbed off their worst levels going into the close but remained firmly negative. The Dow fell 173.73 points or 0.5 percent to 33,631.14, the Nasdaq slid 85.46 points or 0.6 percent to 13,574.22 and the S&P 500 declined 27.34 points or 0.6 percent to 4,349.61.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index plunged by 2.3 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index has fallen by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index are both down by 1.0 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are soaring $3.76 to $86.67 a barrel after falling $0.58 to $82.91 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after edging down $4.30 to $1,883 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are surging $43.30 to $1,926.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 149.51 yen versus the 149.81 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0539 compared to yesterday’s $1.0528.

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