WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Following the substantial downturn seen over the
course of the previous session, stocks may show a lack of direction in early
trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a roughly
flat open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures up by less than tenth of a
percent.

Traders may take a step back following the recent volatility in the markets,
which saw stocks surge on Wednesday before pulling back sharply on Thursday.

Early trading may be impacted by reaction to a Labor Department report showing
producer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the
month of June.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.2
percent in June following a revised unchanged reading in May.

Economists had expected producer prices to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to
the 0.2 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth accelerated to 2.6
percent in June from an upwardly revised 2.4 percent in May.

The annual rate of producer price growth was expected to creep up to 2.3 percent
from the 2.2 percent originally reported for the previous month.

Traders are also reacting to earnings news from several big-name financial
companies, with Wells Fargo (WFC) moving sharply lower in pre-market trading
after reporting weaker than expected net interest income for the second quarter.

Shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) are also seeing modest pre-market weakness even
though the financial giant reported second quarter revenues that exceeded
analyst estimates.

On the other hand, shares of Citigroup (C) are likely to see initial strength
after the company reported second quarter results that beat expectations on both
the top and bottom lines.

Not long after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is scheduled to
release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of July. The
consumer sentiment index is expected to inch up to 68.5 in July after falling to
68.2 in June.

Stocks showed a substantial downturn over the course of the trading session on
Thursday, with the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 pulling back sharply after reaching
new record intraday highs in early trading.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a particularly steep loss on the day, plunging
364.04 points or 2.0 percent to 18,283.41, while the S&P 500 slumped 49.37
points or 0.9 percent to 5,584.54.

The narrower Dow, on the other hand, spent most of the day lingering near the
unchanged line before closing up 32.39 points or 0.1 percent at 39,753.85.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a
mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index plummeted
by 2.5 percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index surged up by 2.6 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the upside on the day.
While the French CAC 40 Index has advanced by 0.7 percent, the German DAX Index
and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.2 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are climbing $0.73 to $83.35 a barrel
after rising $0.52 to $82.62 a barrel on Wednesday. Meanwhile, after surging
$42.20 to $2,421.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slumping
$18.40 to $2,403.50 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 158.99 yen versus the
158.84 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the
euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0879 compared to yesterday's $1.0868.



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