U.S. equity futures moved higher on Friday, while oil prices retreated from recent highs and Oracle rallied following its quarterly update. Investors were awaiting August consumer inflation figures, the final major price report before Federal Reserve officials meet next week.
At 4:26 p.m. (Bangkok time), futures tracking the S&P 500 added 0.51%, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures gained 0.5%. Contracts tied to the Nasdaq 100 rose 0.55%.
Friday’s gains followed a fourth consecutive negative session for all three major U.S. stock benchmarks. During Thursday’s regular trading, the Dow dropped more than 300 points, or 0.6%. The S&P 500 also declined 0.58%, while the Nasdaq Composite finished 0.65% lower.
Oil’s surge had pressured equities during that session. West Texas Intermediate climbed above $100 a barrel, while both WTI and Brent recorded their strongest settlement levels since May 19 as the conflict between the United States and Iran entered its seventh month.
However, crude prices reversed direction Friday. Brent fell 2.46% to $104 a barrel, while WTI declined 2% and moved back to fluctuating around $100.
Economists expect the Consumer Price Index to show a 3.4% annual increase for August, matching the previous month’s pace. Although inflation has eased since May, it remains above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.
Expectations for another interest-rate increase have strengthened amid higher Treasury yields and the recent rise in energy costs. Traders now assign a 72% probability to a Fed rate increase this month, compared with roughly even odds one week earlier.
In individual stocks, Oracle advanced more than 5% before the opening bell after reporting strong quarterly growth in its cloud-computing business.
