By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch MADRID (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock-market futures rose on Friday ahead of data on consumer prices and industrial production. Sentiment was inspired by upbeat news from China, but investors were keeping a nervous eye on talks to avert the fiscal cliff. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH3 +0.29% rose 28 points, or 0.2%, to 13,122, while those for the Standard & Poor’s 500 index SPH3 +0.11% rose 2.50 points, or 0.2%, to 1,414.50. Futures for the Nasdaq-100 index NDH3 -0.17% fell 3.5 points, or less than 0.1%, to 2,644.75. HSBC’s China manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index for December rose to more-than-a year high of 50.9. Chinese stocks rallied on the news. But markets are mostly going to home in on the fiscal cliff in coming days, said strategists. “Whispers of deal or no deal will ultimately be deciding the short-term direction,� said Steen Jakobsen, chief economist at Saxo Bank in Copenhagen. “The market has given itself the holiday presents early and from a technical point of view, we have a risk of profit-taking, especially if a deal on the fiscal cliff drags on.� “We see a tough period for the market into Q1 as growth and PMI continues to slow and with everyone now seeing 2012 as clear sailing, we remain skeptical and believe profit-taking and even short-term short is the right play,� said Jakobsen, in emailed comments. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday talks between Boehner and U.S. President Barack Obama to discuss a plan to avoid the fiscal cliff were “frank�. Several recent polls on public opinion have shown broad support for President Obama’s position and an eagerness for a deal to be reached. The Tell: U.S. public wants cliff compromise, favors Obama approach: polls Read: Will deficit reduction crush stocks? Consumer prices, due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, are expected to fall 0.2% in November, according to economists surveyed by MarketWatch.That is largely due to falling energy prices. Stripping out food and energy, so-called core prices are expected to rise 0.2%. At 9:15 p.m. Eastern, industrial production data is expected to show a gain of 0.2% in November. The data is a key release in gauging what effects Hurricane Sandy had on the U.S. economy. The Tell: What to watch on U.S. economy Friday Ahead of that data, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffery Lacker spoke about his dissent over the Fed’s decision to buy more Treasury securities and link future rate hikes to the level of unemployment. A single indicator cannot provide a complete picture of labor market conditions,� Lacker said. Instead, the Fed should describe “in qualitative terms� the economic conditions under which the Fed would need to change monetary policy, he said in comments posted on the Richmond Fed’s web site. European stocks were largely steady. Data showed a downturn in the euro-zone economy eased in December. Read: China data lift Europe stocks, autos lead While the Shanghai Composite Index CN:000001 +4.32% surged after that HSBC data, Japan stocks finished slightly lower ahead of weekend general elections and a Bank of Japan tankan survey that showed worse-than-expected sentiment among big manufacturers. Read: Shanghai stocks soar 4.3%, leading a mixed Asia PPG Industries Inc. PPG +0.53% could be active. Dutch paints and chemicals group Akzo Nobel NV NL:AKZA +5.44% said Friday it has sold its Decorative Paints business to rival PPG for $1.05 billion. Read: Akzo Nobel sells paints unit to PPG for $1.05B Shares of Alcatel-Lucent ALU +9.09% FR:ALU +11.14% soared in Paris, pointing to possible gains for U.S.-listed shares. The telecom-equipment group said it secured additional financing give it more time to return to profitability. Read: Alcatel-Lucent secures EUR1.62 billion financing Barbara Kollmeyer is an editor for MarketWatch in Madrid. Follow her on Twitter @bkollmeyer.

Source