(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were in the red ahead of the open on Friday, the final trading day of February, as investors looked ahead to wholesale inflation figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
As of 1235 GMT, Dow Jones futures were down 0.76%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.57% and 0.61% lower, respectively.
The Dow closed 17.05 points higher on Thursday in what was a mixed session for major indices following earnings from tech heavyweights Nvidia and Salesforce.
Market participants will turn their attention to fresh US inflation data on Friday, with January's producer price index due out at 1330 GMT, with the index expected to show another month of firm wholesale pressures. Economists have pencilled in a 0.3% rise in the headline PPI reading, with core PPI also forecast to increase 0.3%.
Trade Nation's David Morrison said: "Today is the final trading day of February, a month which has now been characterised by volatility in technology shares. The Nasdaq Composite is on pace for a 2.5% monthly decline, its worst performance since last March. The S&P 500 is tracking a 0.4% loss, while the Dow is set for a 1.2% gain.
"This divergence provides further evidence of a clear rotation away from high-growth AI-linked names into more traditional cyclical sectors, even as broader macro risks tied to trade policy and geopolitical tensions linger in the background."
On the macro front, outside of the producer price index, February's Chicago PMI was slated for release at 1445 GMT, while December construction spending figures will follow at 1500 GMT.
In the corporate space, Netflix has walked away from its offer to buy Warner Bros Discovery, sending its shares higher and leaving Paramount Skydance as the likely winner in the long running battle for the iconic Hollywood studio. The streaming giant refused to increase its $83bn, $27.75-per-share offer after Warner Bros said Paramount's latest £31-per-share bid was superior.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com