Futures Pointing To Roughly Flat Open On Wall Street

(RTTNews) - Following the upward move seen over the two previous sessions, stocks may show a lack of direction in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by just 0.1 percent.

Traders may take a step back to assess the recent strength in the markets, which lifted the S&P 500 to a record intraday high above 7,800 during Thursday's session.

The broad market index also ended yesterday's trading at a record closing high, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq reached its highest closing level in over two months.

The futures remained little changed even after the Commerce Department released a report showing an unexpected decline in U.S. retail sales in the month of July.

The Commerce Department said retail sales fell by 0.6 percent in July after rising by 0.2 percent in June. Economists had expected retail sales to inch up by 0.1 percent.

The unexpected decrease in retail sales partly reflected a significant pullback in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, which tumbled by 1.8 percent in July after surging by 2.4 percent in June.

However, excluding the slump in auto sales, retail sales still dipped by 0.3 percent in July after slipping by 0.2 percent in June. Ex-auto sales were expected to increase by 0.2 percent.

Not long after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of August. The consumer sentiment index is expected to dip to 54.2 in August from 55.2 in July.

Stocks moved mostly higher during trading on Thursday, adding to the moderate gains posted in Wednesday's session. The major averages all moved to the upside on the day, with the S&P 500 reaching a new record closing high.

The Nasdaq led the way higher, advancing 214.54 points or 0.8 percent to a two-month closing high of 26,803.03. The S&P 500 also climbed 50.49 points or 0.7 percent to 7,798.99, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, inching up 69.72 points or 0.1 percent to 53,839.99.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region once again ended mixed during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index climbed by 0.6 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slumped by 1.1 percent.

Meanwhile, European stocks are mostly higher on the day. The German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.1 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is just above the unchanged line.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are rising $0.22 to $81.47 a barrel after plunging $2.02 to $81.25 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after tumbling $47.10 to $4,420.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $13.50 to $4,433.90 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.86 yen versus the 159.48 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1567 compared to yesterday's $1.1527.