U.S. stock futures pointed to a firmer start, albeit in holiday-thinned trading, with a particular focus on retailers as post-Christmas sales kick off in earnest.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were last up 7 points, while those for the S&P 500 index added 3.50 points to 868.50.
An early survey from the retail front pointed to a dismal Christmas shopping season for retailers.
Data released by MasterCard Inc.'s SpendingPulse unit showed total retail sales, excluding automobiles, fell over the year-earlier period by 5.5% in November and 8% in December through Christmas Eve, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
"There has been a major contraction in consumer spending," said Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analytics for MasterCard Advisors, in an interview with the Journal on Christmas Eve. See full story.
In the energy market, light sweet February crude futures rose $1.50 to $36.85 a barrel. In currency trading, the euro rose to $1.4043 from $1.4014 against the U.S. dollar.
Asia markets finished the session mixed, with gains for Tokyo, but losses for China and South Korea.
Several markets in Asia were closed for a holiday, while U.K. and Europe markets were also closed on Friday. Japan reported a record slump in industrial production, the biggest since the government began collecting data in 1953. See full story.
U.S. stocks finished higher after a shortened pre-holiday trading session Wednesday, gaining ground as data on consumer spending and durable goods orders for November came in better than expected. Markets were closed on Thursday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 49 points, good enough for a 0.6% advance to 8,468, with 22 of its 30 components trading higher.
Autos could be again a focus for markets on Friday, although trading overall is expected to be light in volume with many traders making it a long holiday weekend.
Holders of bonds of General Motor Corporation'sfinance arm have a Friday deadline to swap $38 billion in debt for lower-valued bonds so GMAC can become a bank holding company and be eligible for financing under the U.S. Treasury Department's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. GMAC reportedly needs the approval of holders of 75% of the bonds to restructure the debt. Meantime, the Fed cleared GMAC's application to become a bank-holding company.
