Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a mixed open on Friday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the release of U.S. data later in the day, amid growing uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will begin tapering its stimulus measures this month.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.02% gain.
Markets were jittery amid growing uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program at its upcoming policy meeting on September 17-18.
Meanwhile, concerns over Syria persisted as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held open talks on disarming Syria's chemical weapons programs, on Thursday.
However, differences emerged at the outset of the negotiations. Commenting on the talks, Kerry said pledges of Syria's regime to give up its chemical arms were "simply not enough."
Verizon was expected to remain in the spotlight, after being upgraded to "overweight" by Evercore Partners, following the company's purchase of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless.
In addition, BlackRock and Pimco reportedly bought at least a quarter of Verizon's record USD49 billion bond offering, used to refinance the acquisition.
Shares in Verizon Communications were up 0.32% in pre-market trade.
Intel was also likely to be active, after the stocks was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies, which raised its price target for the chip-maker to USD30 from USD27 per share.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Twitter, as the social media messaging site said it had filed for an initial public offering (IPO).
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.16%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.10%, while Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.26%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.17% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.12%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on retail sales and producer price inflation, as well as preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.01% dip, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.11% loss, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.02% gain.
Markets were jittery amid growing uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will start to unwind its USD85 billion-a-month asset purchase program at its upcoming policy meeting on September 17-18.
Meanwhile, concerns over Syria persisted as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held open talks on disarming Syria's chemical weapons programs, on Thursday.
However, differences emerged at the outset of the negotiations. Commenting on the talks, Kerry said pledges of Syria's regime to give up its chemical arms were "simply not enough."
Verizon was expected to remain in the spotlight, after being upgraded to "overweight" by Evercore Partners, following the company's purchase of Vodafone's 45% stake in Verizon Wireless.
In addition, BlackRock and Pimco reportedly bought at least a quarter of Verizon's record USD49 billion bond offering, used to refinance the acquisition.
Shares in Verizon Communications were up 0.32% in pre-market trade.
Intel was also likely to be active, after the stocks was upgraded to "buy" from "hold" at Jefferies, which raised its price target for the chip-maker to USD30 from USD27 per share.
Other stocks likely to be in focus included Twitter, as the social media messaging site said it had filed for an initial public offering (IPO).
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 slipped 0.17%, France’s CAC 40 fell 0.16%, Germany's DAX edged down 0.10%, while Britain's FTSE 100 shed 0.26%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged 0.17% lower, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index added 0.12%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release reports on retail sales and producer price inflation, as well as preliminary data from the University of Michigan on consumer sentiment.