US pre-open: Futures slightly higher as S&P 500 continues to hover around 5,000

(Sharecast News) - Wall Street futures were slightly higher ahead of the bell on Friday after the S&P 500 briefly breached the 5,000-point mark in the previous session. As of 1200 GMT, Dow Jones futures were up 0.04%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite futures had the indices opening 0.12% and 0.28% firmer, respectively.

The Dow closed 48.97 points higher on Thursday, while the S&P 500 saw out the session just 2.85 points firmer.

Trade Nation's Angus Campbell said: "As far as sentiment is concerned, investors have shrugged off any disappointment they may have had after the Federal Reserve made it abundantly clear that they were not ready to cut rates yet. Fed Chair Jerome Powell has effectively ruled out a cut in March, saying the central bank needs to see more evidence that inflation is on a sustainable path back to the 2% target.

"Instead, investors can take solace knowing that inflation is trending down, that US interest rates have peaked, that the unemployment rate is still near historical lows, the US economy is robust and that corporations are reporting solid news on earnings and revenues while being upbeat on the outlook for the rest of the year. Given all this, what could possibly go wrong? Probably best not to think too much about problems in China, US commercial real estate and horrifyingly high debt levels. Not to mention the war in Europe and hostilities across the Middle East. Meanwhile, next week sees a US inflation update."

On the macro front, Dallas Federal Reserve president Lorie Logan will deliver a speech at 1830 GMT.

In corporate news, PepsiCo revealed that quarterly earnings had topped Wall Street estimates despite seeing revenues slide during the period.

Still to come, AMC Networks and Newell Brands were both slated to report earnings on Friday.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com