Both consumer and producer prices cooled a bit, while weekly
jobless claims posted their sharpest rise in 1-1/2-years. Data
on consumer sentiment and import prices are due later in the
day.
The University of Michigan's preliminary reading on the overall
index of consumer sentiment is expected to come in at 63.0 this
month, down from 63.5 in April.
"While the results of the latest inflation gauges are open to
interpretation, the move south rather than north in the
inflation rate supports the case for a June pause by the FOMC at
the very least," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM
Trade.
Tesla Inc rose 1.5% in premarket trading and was the top gainer
among its growth peers as the EV maker raised the U.S. prices of
its Model S, X, and Y vehicles and boss Elon Musk said he has
found a new chief executive for Twitter.
Regional bank stocks steadied after the KBW Regional Banking
index ended its fourth straight session lower on Thursday on
concerns over the sector's health following the collapse of
three regional lenders.
PacWest Bancorp, Zions Bancorp, KeyCorp and Western Alliance
Bancorp all rose between 1% and 4.4%.
Shares of Fox Corp fell 2.2% after Wells Fargo downgraded the
media company to "equal-weight" from "overweight".
At 6:52 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 144 points, or 0.43%, S&P
500 e-minis were up 17 points, or 0.41%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis
were up 31 points, or 0.23%.
Markets will also be watching for signs of a breakthrough in
raising the U.S. government's $31.4 trillion debt ceiling to
avoid a catastrophic default.
A meeting between President Joe Biden and top lawmakers that was
scheduled for Friday has been postponed, and the leaders agreed
to meet early next week.
Meanwhile, Fedwatchers will keep a close eye on comments from
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard and Fed Board
Governor Philip Jefferson later in the day.
(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal and Shristi Achar A in Bengaluru;
Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty and Arun Koyyur)
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