Futures flat after indexes close at record highs

[August 12, 2016]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Friday, a day after all three main indexes closed at record highs for the first time since 1999.

Strong department store earnings, coupled with a sharp rise in oil prices and robust labor market data, were major catalysts for Thursday's rally.

The S&P 500 index has notched 14 record highs since July, but analysts have expressed skepticism over the length of the rally in what is traditionally a low-volume period.

J.C. Penney <JCP.N> shares fell 1.4 percent in premarket trading after the department store chain operator reported quarterly revenue that missed analysts' estimates.

A report by the U.S. Labor Department is expected to show that producer price index edged up 0.1 percent in July, after rising 0.5 percent in June. The data is due at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).

Retail sales likely rose 0.4 percent in July after a 0.6 percent increase in June, a report is expected to show. The data is also due at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Oil touched $46 per barrel for the first time in three weeks on the prospects of exporters working out ways to prop up the market. [O/R]

Nvidia rose 4.7 percent to $62.50 in premarket trading after the chipmaker reported its fastest quarterly sales growth in nearly five years. The stock was the top percentage gainer among S&P companies.

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shortly after the opening bell in New York, U.S., August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTSM2SE

Endo International 3.4 percent to $23.79 after Mizuho raised rating to "buy" from 'neutral".

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva

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