Investing.com - U.S. stock markets pointed to a lower open on Friday as investors awaited the publication of the inflation data and investors watched oil prices continued to falter.
The blue-chip Dow futures dropped 60 points, or 0.37%, by 12:30GMT, or 7:30AM ET, the S&P 500 futures fell 7 points, or 0.38%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 17 points, or 0.42%.
Investors waited for the publication of the consumer price index (CPI) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics at at 13:30GMT or 8:30AM ET and investors will be reading the data for its possible effect on future Fed rate moves.
Evidence of stronger price growth could encourage the US central bank to normalize monetary policy in the following months.
“Though FOMC is targeting PCE core inflation, it is also monitoring the development in CPI core inflation. PCE core has been subdued in recent years, but the trend in CPI core has been upward sloping and thus more encouraging for the Fed,” experts from Danske Bank said in a note.
Among active pre-market movers, Deere & Company (N:DE)lost 1.3% in the pre-market after the farming and construction equipment maker reported a drop in quarterly profit and lowered its 2016 forecast.
Applied Materials (O:AMAT) jumped 8.6% before the bell as the world’s largest maker of machinery for the fabrication of semiconductor chips reported earnings that beat consensus and gave an upbeat forecast after the close on Thursday.
Apparel retailer Nordstrom (N:JWN) was expected to slump on Friday as quarterly earnings missed estimates.
Meanwhile, investors continued to eye the end of the rally in crude that has pushed prices up 14% in three days.
The turnaround began on Thursday after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude inventories rose by 2.1 million barrels last week, to a peak of 504.1 million barrels.
March future contracts which expire on Friday fell -2.08%, to $30.13.
Crude oil futures for April delivery, priced two dollars above the March contract, lost -1.46% to $32.45.
Brent oil traded down -1.28% to $33.84.