Rising inflation not a hindrance

US equity futures remained cautiously high despite a surge in inflation. Major futures indices were up 0.4% when trading on Wall Street started after Thursday's mixed session.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the consumer price index. on a one-year basis, jumped 6.8%, the highest in more than 39 years, and up from 6.2% in October. On a monthly basis, prices rose 0.8% in November compared with the previous month, down from a 0.9% increase in October.

In addition, at 10:00 ET the University of Michigan publishes the preliminary Consumer Sentiment Index for December. The Refinitiv estimate is 67.1 compared to November's final reading of 67.4 and will be another 10-year low as consumers continue to fret over the rapid rise in inflation.

Fed officials due to meet next week said plans to reduce bond purchases and other stimulus measures that boost stock prices could be accelerated if needed to cool inflation, which hit a 30-year high in October.

In Asia, the Nikkei 225 in Tokyo fell 1 per cent, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong was down 1.1 per cent and China's Shanghai Composite was down 0.2 per cent. The S&P 500 Wall Street index fell 0.7 per cent to 4,667.45 after three days of gains. More than three-quarters of the companies in the index closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell less than 1 point to 35,754.69. The Nasdaq lost 1.7 per cent to 15,517.37 points.

In energy markets, benchmark US crude added 39 cents to $71.34 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.42 to $70.94 on Thursday. Brent crude, which underpins global oil prices, rose 31 cents to $74.73 a barrel in London trading. It lost $1.40 to $74.42 in the previous session.