(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday as investors turned cautious ahead of a fresh reading on monthly inflation that could offer clues on further monetary policy tightening by the Federal Reserve.
The core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) index is expected to have risen 0.4% on a monthly basis in January from 0.3% in December. Annual core PCE, however, is seen easing to 4.3% last month from 4.4%. The data is expected at 8:30 a.m. ET.
The three major U.S. indexes are set for weekly losses despite a modest rebound in the previous session, with the blue-chip Dow set for post losses for February.
After a strong January, equity markets have retreated this month as a slew of economic data fed into worries that the central bank might have to keep interest rates higher for longer on sticky inflation and a resilient labor market.
Market participants expect the Fed fund rates to peak at 5.35% by July and stay near those levels till year-end.
Megacap stocks like Tesla Inc, Amazon.com Inc and Nvidia Corp slid around 1% each in premarket trading as yield on the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury note edged up. [US/]
At 6:40 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 164 points, or 0.49%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 24 points, or 0.6%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 111.5 points, or 0.91%.
Separately, January home sales data and the University of Michigan’s final reading of consumer sentiment for February are also due later in the day.
A string of Fed policymakers including Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester and Boston Fed President Susan Collins are also slated to speak.
Boeing Co slid 3% after the Federal Aviation Administration said the planemaker temporarily halted deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner jets.
Warner Bros Discovery Inc fell 4.9% after reporting a greater than expected quarterly loss due to one-off charges related to Warner Bros-Discovery merger.
(Reporting by Johann M Cherian in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
