Stocks May Move To The Downside In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - Following the lackluster performance seen throughout much of the previous session, stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are pointing to a modestly lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 33 points.

The futures remained in the red following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing that U.S. producer prices rose by slightly more than expected in the month of July.

The Labor Department said its producer price index edged up by 0.2 percent in July after climbing by 0.4 percent in June. Economists had expected the index to inch up by just 0.1 percent.

Excluding food and energy prices, the core producer price index rose by 0.3 percent in July, matching the increase seen in the previous month. Core prices had been expected to tick up by 0.1 percent.

Shortly before the start of trading, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release a separate report on industrial production in the month of July.

Economists expect industrial production to climb by 0.4 percent in July following a 0.3 percent increase in June. The capacity utilization rate is expected to dip to 78.1 percent from 78.4 percent.

The University of Michigan is also scheduled to release its preliminary report on consumer sentiment in the month of August not long after the open.

Traders are also likely to keep an eye on developments regarding Greece after the debt-laden country's parliament voted to approve the austerity measures needed to secure a new bailout.

Later today, the Eurogroup finance ministers are scheduled to meet to discuss whether to grant the nation as much as $95 billion.

Stocks showed a lack of direction throughout much of the trading day on Thursday before ending the session little changed. The choppy trading came as traders seemed reluctant to make significant moves following recent volatility.

The major averages eventually finished the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Dow crept up 5.74 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 17,408.25, the Nasdaq dipped 10.83 points or 0.2 percent to 5,033.56 and the S&P 500 edged down 2.66 points or 0.1 percent to 2,083.39.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell by 0.4 percent, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has edged down by 02 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.4 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.09 to $42.14 a barrel after sliding $1.07 to a six-year low of $42.23 a barrel on Thursday. An ounce of gold is currently trading at $1,116.50, up $0.90 from the previous session's close of $1,115.60. On Thursday, gold fell $8.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 124.25 yen compared to the 124.43 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1153 compared to yesterday's $1.1150.