Stock futures inch higher
U.S. stock futures crept higher early Friday, led by the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures, as tapering concerns somewhat subsided.
At around 5:30 a.m. ET, futures tied to the Dow were indicated 170 points, or 0.49% higher to 35,040.
S&P 500 futures jumped 18 points, or 0.40% to 4,510.25 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 56.50 points, or 0.36% to 15,615.25.
On Wednesday, the Dow dropped 151.69 points, or 0.43% to finish the session at 34,879.38, marking its fourth consecutive day of declines.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.46% and 0.25%, respectively.
Crude futures soar on EIA report
On the commodities front, crude futures were also trading in the green territory after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Thursday that crude stockpiles dipped by 1.5 million barrels in the week to Sept. 3.
In its Weekly Petroleum Status Report, the EIA also revealed that gasoline and distillates inventories declined by 7.2 million barrels and 3.1 million barrels, respectively.
The report also showed crude inventories increased by 1.9 million barrels for the week at the Cushing, Oklahoma storage.
Analysts had expected a sharp drop in crude, gasoline, and distillate inventories as most of U.S. offshore production and operations were forced to shut down by Hurricane Ida.
At 5:30 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up $1.00, or 1.47% to $69.14 a barrel. Global Brent crude futures jumped $1.03, or 1.44% to $72.48 a barrel.
Uber, DoorDash, and Grubhub sue NYC over commission caps
In other news, Uber (NYSE: UBER), DoorDash (NYSE: DASH), and Grubhub have filed a lawsuit against New York City over a legislation that permanently caps the commission companies charge restaurants for their services.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the companies argue that a permanent cap will likely force them to raise fees for consumers, rewrite contracts with restaurants, and reduce marketing in the city.
The food delivery companies are seeking an injunction that would bar NYC from enforcing the legislation, along with a jury trial and unspecified monetary damages.
