Stocks May Move Modestly Lower In Early Trading - U.S. Commentary

(RTTNews) - After ending the previous session nearly flat, stocks may move to the downside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a modestly lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 18 points.

The downward momentum for the markets may partly reflect recently renewed uncertainty about the outlook for interest rates.

Ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement next Wednesday, some traders may look to move their money into safer havens.

The Fed is expected to announce a further reduction in the pace of its asset purchases, although traders are likely to pay closer attention to any clues about the policy outlook.

On the economic front, the Commerce Department recently released a report showing that U.S. retail sales rose in line with economist estimates in the month of August.

The report said retail sales climbed by 0.6 percent in August following an upwardly revised 0.3 percent increase in July.

Economists had expected retail sales to increase by 0.6 percent after sales in the previous month were originally reported as virtually unchanged.

Excluding a jump in auto sales, retail sales still rose by 0.3 percent n August, matching economist estimates as well as the upwardly revised increase in the previous month.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed a notable decrease in U.S. import prices in the month of August, reflecting a steep drop in prices for imported fuel.

The report said import prices fell by 0.9 percent in August following a revised 0.3 percent drop in July. Economists had expected import prices to decrease by about 1.0 percent.

Additionally, the Labor Department said export prices slid by 0.5 percent in August after inching up by a revised 0.1 percent in the previous month. Export prices were expected to dip by 0.2 percent.

Stocks saw modest weakness for much of the trading day on Thursday before recovering late in the session and closing nearly flat. The lackluster close extended the roughly sideways trend shown by the markets over the past several sessions.

The major average ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line. While the Dow edged down 19.71 points or 0.1 percent to 17,049.00, the Nasdaq crept up 5.28 points or 0.1 percent to 4,591.81 and the S&P 500 inched up 1.76 points or 0.1 percent to 1,997.45.