US pre-open: Futures edge higher ahead of inflation data

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is expected to open approximately up 19 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are set to begin the final session of the week two and six points higher respectively.

Wall Street has rallied in October, with the Dow up 9% on the month, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite were up 8.8% and 9.8% respectively as of Thursday close.

All eyes on inflation data

The economic calendar for the final session of the month is packed with a host of important economic reports, starting with a report on personal spending, consumer spending and core inflation for September at 1230 GMT.

The Chicago purchasing managers survey for October is released at 1345 GMT, followed by the University of Michigan for October at 1400 GMT.

“US economic data will be key between now and the middle of December after the Fed’s statement on Wednesday suggested that as long as we don’t see a deterioration in the labour market data and inflation expectations, it will look to raise rates in December,” said Oanda’s senior market analyst Craig Erlam.

“With that in mind, few economic indicators will be more important than those that we’ll see today, particularly on the inflation front.”

On the company front, Valeant Pharmaceuticals plunged 6.28% in pre-market action after saying it will part ways with mail-order pharmacy unit Philidor Rx Services.

LinkedIn surged after positing better-than-expected results late on Thursday and lifting its full-year forecast, while Starbucks declined 0.98% despite reporting a surge in profit driven by growth at its US stores.

Among the companies that reported before the bell, CVS Health fell 3.17% after a downbeat profit outlook, while Colgate Palmolive rose 0.58% despite posting a fifth straight decline in quarterly sales.

Oil giants Exxon and Chevron set to report after the opening bell.

Most Asian equity markets ended the week on a downbeat note, after the Bank of Japan refrained from implementing fresh stimulus measures, while European stocks edged lower on profit taking.

The dollar was on the back foot against the main currencies, losing 0.47% against the yen and falling 0.21% and 0.14% against the pound and the euro respectively, while gold futures rose 0.20% to $1,148.21.

Oil prices edged higher, with West Texas Intermediate rising 0.35% to $46.22 a barrel, while Brent gained 0.61% to $49.10 a barrel.