US pre-open: Futures trade lower ahead of bank earnings

Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the bell on Friday as traders braced for earnings from a number of major US banks.

As of 1200 BST, Dow Jones futures were down 0.13%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.10% and 0.35% lower, respectively.

The Dow closed 383.19 points higher on Thursday as investors digest more key inflation data.

Investors will now turn their attention to the beginning of quarterly earnings season, with banking giants JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and BlackRock all set to report on Friday - their first major update since last month's banking sector turmoil.

AJ Bell's Russ Mould said: "All eyes will be on the big US banks as they kick off the first quarter reporting season later today. The potentially dicier outlook for US institutions means the Federal Reserve may have to prioritise its role in preserving financial stability over pursuing further rate hikes to firmly stamp out inflation. Consequently, the market is now pricing in at least one more rate hike from the UK versus no more from the Fed in the near term."

On the macro front, March retail sales numbers will be published at 1330 BST, industrial production figures were slated for release at 1415 BST, and February business inventories data and a preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index will both follow at 1500 BST.

Elsewhere, Federal Reserve banker Christopher Waller will deliver a speech at 1345 BST.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com