(RTTNews) - The Labor Department's January report on consumer price inflation might be the highlight on Friday. Initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower.
In the Asian trading session, the dollar index was steady, while gold prices bounced back. Oil prices were on track for a second weekly decline.
As of 7.40 am ET, the Dow futures were down 119.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 14.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 59.75 points.
The U.S. major averages closed near their lows of the session on Friday. The Nasdaq plunged 469.32 points or 2.0 percent to 22,597.15, the S&P 500 tumbled 108.71 points or 1.6 percent to 6,832.76 and the Dow slumped 669.42 points or 1.3 percent to 49,451.98.
On the economic front, the Consumer Price Index for January will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is 0.3 percent, while it was up 0.3 percent in the prior month.
The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be published at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 779, while it was up 551 in the prior week.
Asian stocks finished lower on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index ended down 1.26 percent at 4,082.07. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index slumped 1.72 percent to 26,567.12.
Japanese markets ended lower. The Nikkei average fell 1.21 percent to 56,941.97 while the broader Topix index closed 1.63 percent lower at 3,818.85.
Australian markets were down. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.39 percent to 8,917.60 while the broader All Ordinaries index settled 1.54 percent lower at 9,138.80.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
