Investing.com -- U.S. stock futures traded in a mixed fashion Friday amid a degree of caution, as a positive week ends with the release of a fresh batch of widely-watched economic data.
By 06:30 ET (10:30 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was up 100 points, or 0.3%, and S&P 500 Futures traded 6 points, or 0.1%, higher, while Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 12 points, or 0.1%.
The three major Wall Street indices posted strong gains on Thursday, helped by the positive reaction to the debut of chip designer Arm (NASDAQ:ARM) after its listing.
The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up over 330 points, or 1%, while the broad-based S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 0.8%.
These gains mean the indices are heading for a winning week, with the DJIA on pace for gains of around 1%, the S&P 500 around 1.1% and the Nasdaq 1.2%.
Arm’s success could prompt more listings
Arm Holdings stock soared almost 25% above its Nasdaq debut price on Thursday, and have continued to firm in premarket trading Friday.
This bodes well for other deals already in the pipeline, including the debut of delivery platform Instacart as early as this month.
About 150 companies are waiting to go public on the Nasdaq, a 40% increase from the same time last year, Reuters reported Friday, citing sources.
Consumer sentiment on data slate
Economic data released during the last session, including the retail sales report, showed a resilient consumer heading into the holiday shopping season.
Friday is another packed day for economic data, as investors turn their attention to next week's Federal Reserve policy-setting meeting, looking for clues to help clarify the policy path ahead for both Fed officials and markets alike.
The highlight will be a preliminary September consumer sentiment reading from the University of Michigan. Import and export prices for August are also due, along with industrial and manufacturing production data, also for August.
Sentiment was boosted earlier Friday after Chinese industrial production increased by more than expected in August, and there was also a pick-up in retail sales.
Auto workers go on strike
Members of the United Auto Workers have gone on strike at three major assembly plants for the first time ever after failed talks between the union and the so-called "Big Three" major carmakers on a new labor contract.
The walkouts hit factories in Michigan, Ohio and Missouri owned by General Motors (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor (NYSE:F) and Jeep-maker Stellantis (NYSE:STLA).
In terms of quarterly earnings, software maker Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE) beat revenue estimates for the third quarter after the close Thursday, while homebuilder Lennar (NYSE:LEN) reported third-quarter profit above expectations.
Crude set for strong weekly gains
Oil prices rose Friday, climbing to their highest level since early November last year, on the back of more stimulus measures as well as the better-than-expected economic data from major importer China.
By 06:30 ET, the U.S. crude futures traded 0.4% higher at $90.48 a barrel, while the Brent contract climbed 0.3% to $93.94.
Both benchmarks were up around 4% from a week ago, on course for a third weekly gain.
Additionally, gold futures rose 0.3% to $1,939.25/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% higher at 1.0663.
(Oliver Gray contributed to this item.)