US pre-open: Futures trade higher ahead of PCE reading

Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Friday as investors braced for a key inflation reading later in the day.

As of 1220 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.21%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.42% and 0.72% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 243.63 points higher on Thursday, notching another record close.

Friday's primary focus will be last month's personal consumption expenditures price index at 1330 BST, with the closely-watched report expected to show a 0.2% month-on-month increase in headline prices in July, or 2.5% on an annualised basis. The Federal Reserve Bank will keep a keen eye on the PCE reading, which may very well still influence the central bank's policy decision come its September meeting.

Elsewhere on the macro front, August's Chicago purchasing managers index will be posted at 1445 BST, while the University of Michigan's August consumer sentiment index will follow at 1500 BST.

In the corporate space, athleisure giant Lululemon missed quarterly revenues expectations for the first time since March 2022, while cosmetics retailer Ulta Beauty posted its first earnings miss since May 2020.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com