Slightly Weak Start Seen For U.S. Stocks; PCE Data In Focus

(RTTNews) - Lower U.S. futures point to a slightly negative start on Wall Street Friday morning.

The Dow futures are down 0.21 percent, the S&P futures are lower by 0.33 percent, and the Nasdaq futures are down 0.54 percent.

Data on Personal Consumption Expenditure, Chicago PMI reading and the University of Michigan's confidence index score, all due this moring, could make a significant impact on investors' mood today.

The major averages closed on a positive note on Thursday, settling slightly down from the day's highs. Stronger than expected second quarter results from AI major Nvidia aided sentiment.

The Nasdaq climbed 115.02 points or 0.5 percent to 21,705.16, the S&P 500 rose 20.46 points or 0.3 percent to 6,501.86 and the Dow edged up 71.67 points or 0.2 percent to 45,636.90.

In overseas trading, Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday after a cautious session ahead of a key U.S. inflation report due later in the day that might show core personal consumption expenditures prices rose 2.9 percent in July, the fastest pace in five months.

Recent strong U.S. economic data soothed recession jitters but also fueled concerns about persistent inflation amid geopolitical factors like the Russian-Ukraine conflict.

The major European markets are exhibiting weakness as investors largely stay cautious, choosing to wait for crucial U.S. PCE reading for clues about Fed's possible moves with regard to interest rates.

In commodities, crude oil futures are down $0.33 or 0.51 percent at $64.27 a barrel. Gold futures are down $7.80 or 0.23 percent at $3,466.50 an ounce.

In the currency market, the U.S. dollar is trading at 1.663 against the Euro, gaining from $1.1685.

The dollar is trading at 147.29 yen, up from previous close of 146.95 yen a dollar.