Dow futures rise 45 pts; debt negotiations, core PCE data in focus

© Reuters

Investing.com -- U.S. stocks are seen opening marginally higher Friday, with investors awaiting more news over the negotiations to lift the U.S. debt ceiling as well as the release of the Federal Reserve's favorite gauge of inflation.

At 07:00 ET (11:00 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 45 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 Futures traded 7 points, or 0.2%, higher and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 40 points, or 0.3%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite closed 1.7% higher Thursday, boosted by Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), the world's most valuable semiconductor firm, projecting a record quarter because of surging demand for chips that help power artificial intelligence technology.

The broad-based S&P 500 gained 0.9%, while the blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1% as negotiations over lifting the U.S. government’s debt ceiling stalled.

President Biden said on Thursday that progress had been made in his ongoing negotiations with top House Republican Kevin McCarthy, with Reuters reporting that the two sides are putting the final touches on a deal that will raise the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling for two years.

That said, any agreement would have to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives and the Democratic-controlled Senate, with the June 1 deadline fast approaching.

The Fed's preferred inflation measure is due out later on Friday, with the core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, which removes more volatile items like energy and food, expected to rise by 4.6% annually and 0.3% month-on-month in April.

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment gauge for May is also due later Friday.

Data showing a resilient economy as well as hawkish comments from a number of Fed speakers have persuaded some investors to begin to reassess their forecasts for the central bank's future interest rate path. 

Expectations are now almost evenly split between a rate hike and a pause in June, while the likelihood of cuts later this year is falling rapidly.

On the corporate front, the earnings season is drawing to a close, but retailer Gap (NYSE:GPS) and semiconductor stock Marvell Technology (NASDAQ:MRVL) are seen trading substantially higher premarket, while Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ:ULTA) slumped after releasing numbers after the close Thursday.

Oil prices edged higher Friday, rebounding after the previous session's weakness as Russia played down the prospect of further OPEC+ production cuts at its meeting next month.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday he expects no new steps from the group of top producers at the June 4 meeting, undermining remarks from Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman earlier in the week that speculators should “watch out.”

By 06:50 ET, U.S. crude futures traded 0.6% higher at $72.28 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.4% to $76.53. 

Both benchmarks were still on course for small gains this week on signs of tightening U.S. supply and improving fuel demand in the world’s largest oil consumer.

Additionally, gold futures rose 0.5% to $1,952.85/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher at 1.0747.