U.S. Stocks May Continue To Experience Choppy Trading Early On

(RTTNews) - After ending yesterday's lackluster session little changed, stocks may continue to experience choppy trading early on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than a tenth of a percent.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves ahead of the release of closely watched consumer price inflation shortly after the start of trading.

The Federal Reserve's preferred inflation readings, which are included in a report on personal income and spending, could impact the outlook for interest rates ahead of next week's monetary policy meeting.

Consumer prices are expected to climb by 0.3 percent in September, matching the increase seen in August. Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, are expected to rise by 0.2 percent.

"A higher-than-expected reading could give the Fed pause for thought about a pre-Christmas cut, while an in line or lower number would likely give markets further confidence about such a move," said AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould.

However, with the long-delayed report looking back to September, the impact of the data on the outlook for rates may be somewhat subdued.

CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently indicating an 87.2 percent chance the Fed will lower interest rates by another quarter point next week.

The University of Michigan is also due to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of December. The consumer sentiment index is expected to rise to 52.0 in December after falling to 51.0 in November.

After moving higher over the two previous sessions, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closed narrowly mixed.

While the Nasdaq rose 51.04 points or 0.2 percent to 23,505.14 and the S&P 500 inched up 7.40 points or 0.1 percent to 6,857.12, the narrower Dow edged down 31.96 points or 0.1 percent to 47,850.94.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index slumped by 1.1 percent, while South Korea's Kospi surged by 1.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.9 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.3 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging down $0.07 to $59.60 a barrel after jumping $0.72 to $59.67 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after rising $10.50 to $4,243 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are climbing $23.20 to $4,266.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.14 yen versus the 155.08 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1650 compared to yesterday's $1.1643.