U.S. stock futures were moderately higher on Friday, extending previous session gains fueled by upbeat expectations from major retailers, as traders eagerly awaited another round of economic data.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.02%, S&P 500 futures rose 0.2% and Nasdaq futures rose 0.5%.
Department store operator Macy’s (M) and discount retailers Dollar Tree (DLTR) and Dollar General (DG) all upgraded their respective outlooks for 2022 in conjunction with their quarterly results on Thursday.
Oil prices fell slightly, with global first-month benchmarks Brent and West Texas Intermediate both down less than 1% but still hovering around a two-month high, supply remaining tense ahead of the peak of the US driving season.
As of 8:30 a.m. ET, data is expected to show the U.S. goods trade deficit narrowing to $114.9 billion in April from $125.3 billion the previous month. Personal income is expected to rise 0.5% in April after rising 0.5% in March, while personal consumption expenditure is expected to rise 0.8% from the 1.1% gain the previous month, according to Bloomberg data.
Scheduled for 10 a.m., forecasters see the US Consumer Sentiment Index coming in at 59.1 in the final May reading, which would be unchanged from the previous reading.
Russian stocks and Russian-focused exchange-traded funds remain blocked on US exchanges.
