Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a moderately lower open on Friday, as investors eyed the release of U.S. consumer sentiment data later in the day, while Thursday's downbeat spending report prompted downward revisions to U.S. economic growth in the second quarter.
Ahead of the open, the Dow 30 futures pointed to a 0.10% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.14% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.10% fall.
Data on Thursday showed that U.S. personal spending rose 0.2% last month, below expectations for an increase of 0.4%. Personal spending for April was revised to a flat reading from a previously reported decline of 0.1%.
At the same time, the U.S. Department of Labor showing that the number of individuals filing for initial jobless benefits in the week ending June 21 declined by 2,000 to 312,000 from the previous week’s revised total of 314,000.
Dupont Fabros Technology (NYSE:DFT) was expected to be active, after the maker of Pioneer genetically modified corn said second-quarter operating profit will be "moderately" less than a year earlier, due to disappointing seed sales.
Manitowoc (NYSE:MTW) was also likely to be in focus amid reports the maker of cranes and commercial-food appliances has been targeted by activist shareholder Relational Investors LLC, sending its shares soaring 12.22% in pre-market trade.
According to a regulatory filing, Relational has amassed 8.5% of Manitowoc and has met with management.
Elsewhere, GoPro was set to move as the stock climbed 3.13% in early trading after skyrocketing over 30% on Thursday when the maker of cameras made its market debut.
In earnings news, Nike (NYSE:NKE) surged 2.91% in extended trade after reporting late Thursday a rise in quarterly profit, thanks to strong sales of its apparel and footwear in North America and Western Europe.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 added 0.19%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.26%, Germany's DAX gained 0.20%, while Britain's FTSE 100 edged 0.15% higher.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.10%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted 1.39%.
Later in the day, the U.S. was to release revised data on consumer sentiment.