Investing.com – Wall Street futures inched down on Friday after the Dow posted its first decline of more than 1% in two months and while investors awaited a slew of data.
The blue-chip Dow futures slipped 12 points, or 0.06%, by 11:21AM GMT, or 7:21AM ET, the S&P 500 futures edged down 3 points, or 0.14%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures shed 13 points, or 0.29%.
Market participants were gauging the weakness in the dollar. At 11:22GMT or 7:22AM ET, the U.S. Dollar Index, that gauges the greenback’s value against a basket of six other currencies, was down 0.42% at 93.34, hitting 8 month lows as signs of weak growth spurred speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) would be unable to continue tightening monetary policy.
The weak dollar and the surprise that the Bank of Japan did not expand stimulus this week pushed the yen to an 18-month high against the dollar. Specifically, USD/JPY hit an intraday low at 106.91, its weakest level since October 2014.
The feeble greenback also aided gold to hit a 14-month high and helped U.S. crude to mark new highs for 2016 on Friday.
In the first remarks from a Fed official since this week’s monetary policy decision, Dallas Fed president Robert Kaplan promised to push for gradual increases in interest rates as long as inflation continued to rise and the labor market registered near full employment.
“As we continue to make progress in achieving our dual mandate, I will advocate that we take actions to remove some amount of accommodation," Kaplan remarked in a speech prepared for a monetary policy forum in London.
"I will also advocate that we take these steps in a gradual and patient manner," he added.
Meanwhile, investors awaited the publication of a slew of economic reports.
Personal income and spending, along with the core PCE price index for March were all due at 12:30GMT, or 8:30AM ET.
Market participants will also keep an eye on the Chicago PMI for April or the revision to the University of Michigan’s April consumer sentiment due at 13:45GMT, or 9:45AM ET, and 14:00GMT or 10:00AM ET, respectively.
On the company front, Rovi Corporation (NASDAQ:ROVI) announced plans to buy TiVo Inc (NASDAQ:TIVO) for $1.1 billion.
Blue-chip oil companies Chevron (NYSE:CVX) and Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) were on tap to report quarterly earnings.