US pre-open: Stocks seen flat to slightly lower as GDP eyed

US futures pointed to a flat to slightly lower start on Wall Street as investors eyed the preliminary release of US gross domestic product figures for the third quarter.

At 1105 BST, Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 futures were flat, while Nasdaq futures were down 0.1%.

Meanwhile, oil prices were a little weaker amid ongoing doubts over whether OPEC and non-OPEC producers will agree an output cut to ease the glut. West Texas Intermediate was down 0.4% at $49.52 a barrel and Brent crude was off 0.2% at $50.35.

Oanda's Craig Erlam said: "US third quarter GDP data will be a major focus for traders on Friday, coming days before the penultimate Fed meeting of the year, one which could deliver a very clear message of the central bank’s intention to raise interest rates in December.

"What makes today’s GDP release all the more important is that is comes following two weak quarters of growth for the US economy which has already got people questioning whether the recovery has already stalled and if the Fed should be raising interest rates at this time. A third consecutive poor reading will only add to the voices calling for the Fed to hold off on hiking in December and with the markets having already heavily priced it in, I wonder whether it would also prompt some heavy selling in the dollar and spike in Treasuries."

The first release of third-quarter US GDP is at 1330 BST, while University of Michigan sentiment is at 1500 BST.

On the corporate front, Amazon shares were sharply lower in pre-market trade after its third-quarter results released late on Thursday revealed weaker-than-expected profit and in-line revenue.

Biotechnology group Amgen was also on the back foot after it kept its sales outlook unchanged on Thursday, but lifted its profit outlook and posted forecast-beating earnings for the third quarter.

On the upside, Google parent Alphabet rose in pre-market trade after its third-quarter results late on Thursday came in better than forecast.

Elsewhere, Baker Hughes gained ground following a Wall Street Journal report that General Electric is in talks to merge its oil and gas business with the company.

Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Phillips are among the companies slated to report ahead of the open.