Investing.com – Wall Street futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Friday as investors digested yet another missile launch by North Korea and awaiting a string of economic data.
The blue-chip Dow futures slipped 9 points, or 0.04%, at 7:01AM ET (11:01GMT), the S&P 500 futures dropped 3 points, or 0.13%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures lost 8 points, or 0.14%.
After initial jitters from the fact that Pyongyang fired a missile over Japan into the Pacific Ocean late Thursday, global equities seemed to take the news mostly in stride.
Safe haven items popped and stocks were initially hit, but those trades were mostly reversed as investors digested the news of yet another escalation in geopolitical tensions.
Traders remained cautious on Friday but looked ahead to further indications on the strength of the U.S. economy.
Amid a slew of data to be released on Friday, investors will likely focus on the Commerce Department’s release of August retail sales at 8:30AM ET (12:30GMT). The consensus forecast is that the report will show retail sales inched up 0.1% last month, after a stronger 0.6% advance in the preceding month.
Core sales are forecast to gain 0.5%, matching July’s increase.
Rising retail sales over time correlate with stronger economic growth, while weaker sales signal a declining economy. Consumer spending accounts for as much as 70% of U.S. economic growth.
Besides retails sales, markets will also keep watch over the latest read of industrial production for August and preliminary Michigan consumer sentiment for September out at 9:15AM ET (13:15GMT) and 10:00AM ET (14:00GMT), respectively.
In company news, shares of Oracle (NYSE:ORCL) slumped more than 4% in pre-market trade Friday as a disappointing forecast offset better-than-expected earnings released after the previous day’s close.
Meanwhile, oil continued to move higher on Friday, on track for weekly gains of around 5%, as West Texas Intermediate oil hovered below the $50 handle.
U.S. crude futures traded up 0.18% to $49.98 by 7:02AM ET (11:02GMT), while Brent oil gained 0.27% to $55.62.