US Futures Tick Lower Friday; Oil Price Eyed
(REUTERS) -- Futures on the S&P 500 edged lower in sparse volume Friday in a light day on the economic calendar but were still on track to close their ninth straight week of gains, the longest such run since January 2004.
-Futures have been stuck in a tight range in the past two weeks, mostly holding on to gains of nearly 10 percent since the beginning of the year.
-Investors will focus on oil prices as U.S. crude hovers near $107 a barrel a day after hitting a 10-month high above $110 on supply concerns in the Middle East.
-Aides to U.S. President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are scrambling to bridge differences over what Washington fears could be an Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear sites, a concern at the heart of the recent spike in oil prices. Both leaders will meet on Monday.
-New York's Institute for Supply Management February index of regional business activity is due at 9:45 a.m. (1445 GMT).
-S&P 500 futures fell 4.9 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures dipped 10 points and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 7.25 points.
-Yelp Inc.'s initial public offering of class A common stock priced at $15 a share, above the expected price range, valuing the U.S. consumer review website at nearly $900 million.
-Close-out retailer Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) posted a higher quarterly profit, helped by strong demand for its discounted products.
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