Wall Street was headed for a lower open on Friday after retail sales data suggested momentum in consumer spending remained limp, heightening concerns about the fragile economic recovery.

U.S. retail sales rose in July, but the gains were concentrated in autos and gasoline, while other retailers saw sales fall.

Helping offset losses, higher energy costs lifted U.S. consumer prices in July, the first gain in four months, possibly easing concerns about deflation.

Zach Pandl, economist at Nomura Securities International in New York, said the retail sales data confirmed the softening trend in recent months on consumer caution in the face of a bleak labor market.

The softness was relatively broad-based, the consumer is pulling back on a number of fronts. There's no sign of a consumer collapse, but also no sign of a more robust recovery.

S&P 500 futures fell 1 point 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 lost 10 points and Nasdaq 100 futures fell 2.5 points.

J.C. Penney Co Inc reversed losses and gained 1.4 percent to $21 in premarket trade. The retailer reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit but offered a weak outlook.

At 9:55 a.m. EDT, Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers reports the preliminary August consumer sentiment index. Economists forecast a reading of 69.3, compared with 67.8 in the final July report.

India may shut down Google Inc and Skype Internet-based messaging services over security concerns, the Financial Times reported, as the government threatened a similar crackdown on Research in Motion Ltd's BlackBerry services. Google was down 0.4 percent at $490.23 premarket.

Eli Lilly and Co fell 3.7 percent to $35.25 ahead of the opening bell after the drugmaker lost a patent case that cleared the way for generic competition for Strattera, its attention deficit disorder drug.

At 9:55 a.m. EDT, Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers reports the preliminary August consumer sentiment index. Economists forecast a reading of 69.3, compared with 67.8 in the final July report.

U.S. stocks ended down for a third straight day on Thursday, setting the stage for the biggest weekly decline in six weeks, as an unexpected rise in jobless claims and a sobering revenue outlook from Cisco Systems Inc underscored the hurdles to economic recovery.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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