US pre-open: Futures higher as US strikes energy deal with EU

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Friday after the European Union struck a deal with the US in an effort to lower its Russian energy usage.

As of 1225 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.27%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were ahead 0.35% and 0.42%, respectively.

The Dow closed 349.55 points higher on Thursday, bouncing back from heavy losses in the previous session.

In focus prior to the open was news that the US and EU had reached a deal to increase exports of liquefied natural gas to the block and cut its dependence on Russian energy.

President Joe Biden and his European Commission counterpart Ursula von der Leyen said the deal would see LNG shipments to Europe rise by 15.0bn cubic metres in 2022.

"This will replace the LNG supply we currently receive from Russia, and looking ahead, the United States and Europe will ensure stable demand and supply for an additional at least 50 billion cubic metres of US LNG until 2030," von der Leyen said, noting that amount would replace one-third of Russian gas imports.

"We are right on track now to diversify away from Russian gas," she said.

On the macro front, the University of Michigan's March consumer sentiment index was scheduled for release at 1400 GMT, as was February's pending home sales report.

No major corporate earnings were slated for release on Friday.