STOCK MARKET NEWS: Inflation data hot, oil, stocks slide, FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried talks testifying

U.S. equity futures traded higher to end the week, ahead of the release of the latest read on producer prices.

The major futures indexes suggest a gain of 0.3% when the opening bell rings.

Oil prices gained on Friday as closure of a major Canada-to-U.S. crude pipeline disrupted supplies.

However, both benchmarks were headed for a weekly loss on worries over slowing global demand growth.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude traded around $72.00 a barrel, having settled 0.8% lower in the previous session.

Brent crude futures were trading at $76.00 a barrel, after dropping 1.3% on Thursday.

On the economic calendar, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to say that PPI rose 0.2% month-over-month in November according to Refinitiv forecasts.

That’s unchanged from October’s cooler-than-expected print. 

The University of Michigan releases its preliminary index of consumer sentiment for December. It’s expected to inch higher to 56.9 after falling more than expected in November on inflation worries and rising interest rates.

Shares rose in Asia on Friday after an advance on Wall Street led by the latest rally in technology companies.

In Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index gained 1.2%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 2.3% and China’s Shanghai Composite index climbed 0.3%.

On Thursday, the S&P 500 rose 0.8% to 3,963.51, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite closed 1.1% higher, at 11,082. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.5% to 33,781.48.