NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat market open on Friday, with data on the services sector and consumer sentiment on tap, as investors worried about the impact of rising global interest rates on equities.
Shares of Starbucks Corp. (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research) may gain ground after the coffee chain posted an 8 percent rise in February sales late on Thursday, helping to boost its stock 1.1 percent to $35.85 in extended-hours trading.
Financial stocks fell on Thursday amid fear that benchmark rates may rise further. The yield of the U.S. Treasury 10-year note climbed to a three-month high after the European Central Bank raised interest rates and its chief expressed concern about a pickup in inflation, suggesting more rate increases may be in store.
Expectations are also mounting for an interest-rate hike in Japan that could come as soon as next Thursday when the Bank of Japan next meets.
Rising rates could lure investors away from stocks and into other investments, like bonds, one trader said.
"The story you'll start to see people talk about as rates go up around the world is, what type of competition will there be for stocks," said Rick Meckler, president of investment firm LibertyView Capital Management.
S&P 500 futures were unchanged, barely above fair value, a mathematical formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.
Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 8 points and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1 point, but still above fair value.
No major earnings reports were expected on Friday.
Overstock.com Inc. shares may be in the spotlight after the chairman, John Byrne, said he is considering resigning amid a disagreement with his son, Overstock Chief Executive Patrick Byrne, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.
The University of Michigan will report its final reading of consumer sentiment for February at 9:45 a.m. (1445 GMT). A previous data showed the index at 87.4, down from 91.2 in January.
The Institute for Supply Management's service sector index at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT). The ISM is forecast to have risen to 58 in February from 56.8 a month earlier.
U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as oil prices rose sharply and Treasury bond yields rose, while same-store retail sales for February disappointed Wall Street.
Lead-month oil futures rose 36 cents to $63.72 a barrel overnight in electronic trading.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 28.02 points, or 0.25 percent, to end at 11,025.51. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dipped 2.10 points, or 0.16 percent, to finish at 1,289.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 3.53 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at 2,311.11.
Stand: 13:25 Uhr
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: wichtiger Termin mit stark marktbewegenden Charakter; oft werden viele Märkte
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