Futures Tick Up as Retail Sales Miss Estimates

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U.S. stock-index futures drifted higher on Friday as traders eyed a mildly disappointing retail sales report and slightly higher-than-expected wholesale inflation.

Today's Markets

As of 8:38 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 20 points to 15266, S&P 500 futures gained 0.75 point to 1679 and Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 3.5 points to 3173.

The broad S&P 500 snapped its seven-day winning streak on Thursday in fairly tepid trading. Action was still light early Friday; however, a round of data on the U.S. economy could provide more direction.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.2% in August, missing expectations it would rise 0.4%. Excluding the auto segment, sales rose 0.1%, shy of expectations of a 0.3% increase.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported wholesale inflation rose 0.3% in August, compared to expectations it would rise 0.2%. Excluding the food and energy segment, producer prices remained unchanged from July, while economists expected it to rise 0.1%. The more closely watched Consumer Price Index is due out next week. Recently, the risk of deflation, or expectations of lower prices, has actually posed a bigger threat than inflation.

At 9:55 a.m. ET, Wall Street will get a reading on consumer sentiment from Reuters and the University of Michigan.

In corporate news, micro-blogging site Twitter filed a confidential filing for an initial public offering with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) was said to be the lead underwriter on the much-awaited IPO, according to multiple media reports. The investment bank declined a FOX Business request for comment.

In commodities, crude oil futures fell 78 cents, or 0.73%, to $107.81 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline rose 0.42% to $2.774 a gallon. Gold plummeted $17.40, or 1.3%, to $1,313 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets 

The Euro Stoxx 50 fell 0.07% to 2860, the English FTSE 100 dipped 0.2% to 6576 and the German DAX rose 0.07% to 8500.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 edged up 0.12% to 14405 and the Chinese Hang Seng slumped 0.17% to 22915.