
Dec 10, 2021 06:57AM ET
By: AnalysisWatch
US stocks are trading slightly higher at the open on Friday as investors eagerly await the latest US inflation data.
At 7 a.m. ET, the Dow futures contract was up 125 points, or 0.4%, the S&P 500 futures contract was up 20 points, or 0.5%, and the Nasdaq 100 futures contract was up 70 points, or 0.4%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped less than a point, the S&P 500 dropped 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.7%.
The discovery of the omicron strain of COVID-19 has roiled markets since it was first discovered by scientists in South Africa last month. The main focus on Friday, however, will be the release of the latest US inflation data at 8:30 AM ET as a precursor to next week's Federal Reserve meeting.
US consumer prices are expected to have risen 6.8% year-on-year in November, beating October's 6.2% increase, the strongest inflation rise in more than 30 years.
A higher-than-expected reading could convince the Fed that it needs to be more aggressive. It is already expected to announce a faster tapering of its bond-buying programme next week.
Later in the session, the preliminary reading of the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index will be released, which is expected to weaken to 67.1 from 67.4 in November.
In the corporate sector, Lululemon Athletica is likely to be in the spotlight after the casual apparel retailer raised its full-year sales forecast but also warned of a possible drop in demand due to the new variants of the coronavirus.
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