US pre-open: Stocks seen flat; G-20 meeting eyed

US futures pointed to a muted open on Wall Street on Friday following recent Fed-fuelled gains, as investors looked to the Group of 20 meeting.

At 1110 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq futures were up 0.1%, while S&P 500 futures were flat. There is potential for trading to be volatile as it's quadruple witching this session, which means market index futures, market index options, stock options and stock futures all expire.

Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, said: "Investors appear to be taking a bit of a breather on Friday following what has been quite a hectic week across the board, from politics to central banks and economic data.

"The US dollar appears to be undergoing a small correction with expectations going into the Fed meeting on Wednesday having been so raised that there was nothing left in the move. It was classic buying the rumour selling the fact. A dovish hike was the minimum that was priced in and the Fed went no further at this stage which has prompted some profit taking."

The G-20 meeting is taking place in Baden-Baden, Germany, with investors likely to focus on US President Donald Trump's intentions when it comes to global trade.

Tony Cross, market analyst for TopTradr, said: "There has been no shortage of talk about border taxes and even the threat in isolation has been sufficient to repatriate some jobs to the US, but the detail is still unknown and this has the potential to create a tense atmosphere.

"Requests could be forthcoming from the US for Japan and China to both strengthen their respective currencies in a bid to level the playing field, but given the phase of policy tightening that the Federal Reserve is now engaged with, the fundamental challenge is that bit harder. It is perhaps the clues this meeting may hold over future US trade deals that will provide the most meaningful direction."

In corporate news, Tiffany's shares rose in pre-market trade after its fourth-quarter results beat expectations.

Elsewhere, software company Adobe Systems as its quarterly numbers released late on Thursday surpassed analysts' forecasts.

On the data front, industrial production and capacity utilization are due at 1315 GMT, with Michigan consumer sentiment at 1400 GMT.