US pre-open: Futures in the green following Dow's worst day of 2022
Wall Street futures were in the green ahead of the bell on Friday after the Dow Jones Industrial Average's worst day of the year so far as traders dumped risk assets amid ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine.
As of 1220 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.41%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.48% and 0.65% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed 622.24 points lower on Thursday, extending losses recorded in the previous session as market participants monitored developments in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and digested news that initial jobless claims increased by 23,000 to 248,000 in the week ended 12 February.
As for Friday, investors were still firmly focussed on Russia and Ukraine ahead of the bell after the latter accused pro-Russian separatists of attacking a village near the border and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told the United Nations that the situation was now at a "moment of peril". Blinken has also accepted an invitation from Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov to meet next week, provided there is no further Russian incursions into Ukraine.
"It is becoming increasingly clear that the US appears to think a Russian invasion is only a matter of time, and whether it comes this week, or in a few days, US officials want it to be clear that if, and when it does happen, Russia won't be able to hide behind a 'false flag' event to justify it," said CMC Markets' Michael Hewson.
On the macro front, January's leading index will be published at 1500 GMT, as will last month's existing home sales figures, while the Federal Reserve's Charles Evans, Christopher Waller, John Williams and Lael Brainard will all deliver comments throughout the course of the day.
In the corporate space, Deere & Co will publish its latest set of quarterly earnings before the open.