US pre-open: Futures point to gains ahead of rollercoaster week's final session

Wall Street futures were pointing to solid gains as a volatile, holiday-shortened week for stocks draws to a close.

As of 1225 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.69%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.82% and 0.79% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 405.89 points lower on Thursday as another heavy tech sell-off weighed on indices.

Things will be fairly light on both the corporate and data front on Friday, with investors likely turning their attention to next week’s Fed meeting, expecting the upcoming meeting to reveal some hints as to what needs to happen before policymakers can raise interest rates.

Market participants were also focusing an amount of their attention across the pond as European equities struggled for direction amid a Brexit stand-off.

SpreadEx's Connor Campbell said: "Currently the Dow Jones is heading for a 170 point increase when trading resumes stateside, a rebound that it is in need of following last night's 400 point plunge.

"However, there's been a pattern this week, of pre-market positivity turning into a dramatic sell-off when investors are actually faced with the opening bell on Wall Street."

Elsewhere, during a rally in Michigan Donald Trump claimed the US had now achieved one of the lowest Covid-19 facility rates in the world. However, data from John Hopkins University revealed the US had the 51st highest rate among the 169 countries being tracked.

On the macro front, August inflation rate data will be published at 1330 BST, while the White House's monthly budget statement was scheduled for release at 1900 BST.

In corporate news, both Peloton and Oracle posted better-than-expected quarterly results overnight, while Kroger and GNC will both report earnings on Friday.