US pre-open: Futures cautiously higher ahead of Christmas break

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Friday as traders braced for a slew of data points ahead of the Christmas break.

As of 1255 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.21%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.19% and 0.29% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 348.99 points lower on Thursday after a raft of data replaced hopes of a pre-Christmas 'Santa rally' with renewed rate hike fears.

Market participants will thumb over several data points on Friday, with last month's personal consumption expenditure reading taking centre stage at 1330 GMT. The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge is expected to have gained 0.2% in November. On an annual basis, the measure was projected to have risen 4.6%, compared to 5.0% in October.

Elsewhere, on the macro front, November building permits data will be published at 1300 GMT, while last month's durable goods orders will follow at 1330 GMT and November new home sales figures and a final reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index were slated for release at 1500 GMT.

In the corporate space, Micron shares were in the red amid concerns regarding future demand for semiconductors, while Tesla shares also traded lower in pre-market on fears of dwindling demand.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com