US pre-open: Stocks little changed, major indices on track for winning week

US futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Friday, putting Wall Street stocks on course for a winning week.

As of 1300 BST, Dow Jones and S&P 500 futures were down 0.03% and 0.09%, respectively, while Nasdaq-100 futures had the index opening 0.02% weaker.

The Dow closed 554.67 points higher on Thursday, extending gains recorded in the previous session as both July's consumer price index and retail sales data lifted sentiment amid renewed optimism that an economic soft landing may still be on the cards.

On the macro front for Friday, building permits and housing starts data will be out at 1330 BST, while a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's August consumer sentiment index will be out at 1500 BST.

In the corporate space, H&R Block traded higher in pre-market after the tax services outfit announced a 17% dividend increase and a $1.5bn stock buyback, while Autodesk traded lower on the back of a Bloomberg report that revealed executives had ignored risks related to sales strategies.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com