US pre-open: Stocks seen lower amid holiday-thinned volumes

US futures pointed to a weaker open on Wall Street on Friday following the Thanksgiving holiday, but with just half a day's trading on the cards as investors are given the chance to shop for some Black Friday bargains, volumes are likely to be thinner than usual.

At 1215 GMT, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 0.6%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures were down 0.5%.

Oanda analyst Craig Erlam said: "Whether it’s a case of recovering from the previous days celebrations or taking advantage of the deep discounts in store and online, activity in the US is likely to be more muted on the final trading day of the week. And who knows, maybe after a day of grabbing bargains, some of that Black Friday mentality may rub off investors with many stocks now trading at a deep discount themselves compared to a couple of months ago.

"We’re not quite seeing that rub off on the markets just yet though with US futures trading in the red but we’re heading into a very interesting time of year and they may well now be primed for a so-called Santa rally as all the festive good will finds its way onto Wall Street."

Investors will be mulling over encouraging remarks from US President Trump and two top Chinese officials regarding the prospects for reaching a trade deal ahead of the G-20 meeting in Buenos Aires at the end of the month.

Donald Trump reportedly said overnight that "[China] wants to make a deal and we're very happy with that. I'm very prepared, I've been preparing for it all my life".

Meanwhile, in China, the country's vice minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Chao, said he hoped a meeting between Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, would go "smoothly".

He was echoed by the vice minister of Commerce, Wang Shouwen, who said that negotiating teams from Washington and Beijing had been "in close touch".

Energy stocks were likely to be in focus as oil prices hit a 2018 low amid worries about a global supply glut. West Texas Intermediate was down 3.2% to $52.20 a barrel and Brent crude was 2.7% lower at $60.95.

On the data front, Markit's manufacturing PMI for November is at 1445 GMT.