Stocks poised for a positive open
U.S. stock futures moved higher early Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average notched its third straight day of losses in the previous session, weighed by disappointing (NYSE: DIS) earnings and inflation worries.
As of 5:35 a.m. ET, futures tied to the Dow were up 50 points, or 0.14% to 35,879.
S&P 500 futures rose 4.5 points, or 0.1% to 4,647.5 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures gained 25.5 points, or 0.16% to 16,048.25.
The Dow shed 159 points, or 0.44%, to finish at 35,921 on Thursday while the S&P 500 climbed 3 points, or 0.06%, to close at 4,649. The Nasdaq Composite added 82 points, or 0.52%, to end at 15,704.
Traders panicked on Wednesday after data released by the Labor Department showed the strongest increase in U.S. consumer prices in 31 years in October.
Michigan consumer sentiment eyed
On the data front, traders will be closely watching the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment report due shortly after the market open.
Analysts expect the consumer sentiment index to jump to 72.4 in November from 71.7 the previous month. The index has averaged 71.6, since slumping to 70.3 in August.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey or JOLTS for September is also out this morning.
Expectations are for job openings to fall to 10.1 million, after rising to 10.43 million in August.
Crude futures slump on dollar strength
In energy markets, crude futures fell Friday morning as a strengthening U.S. dollar scared traders.
A strong greenback deters traders from using other currencies from buying dollar-priced oil as it is more expensive for them.
By 5:45 a.m. ET, U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures fell $1.26, or 1.54%, to $80.33 a barrel. Global Brent crude futures dropped $1.02, or 1.23%, to $81.85 a barrel.
