NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Stock futures pointed to a higher open Friday ahead of February retail sales and consumer sentiment data.
Futures for the S&P 500 were higher by 2.3 points at 1148.2 and were 2.76 points above fair value. Futures for the Nasdaq were up by 2 points and were 2.69 points above fair value.
>>Top Five Metals and Mining Stocks
Stocks finished ahead Thursday for the third consecutive day after spending most of the session in negative territory as investors struggled to shake fears of further tightening in China.
The health of U.S. consumers comes into focus at 8:30 a.m. EST when the Census Bureau releases February retail sales data. Economists are looking for a decline of 0.2%, compared with the prior month's growth of 0.5%. Excluding autos sales, economists expect retail sales to rise 1%, from a previous increase of 0.6%.
The University of Michigan delivers its preliminary reading on March consumer sentiment at 10 a.m. EST. Economists expect the index to hit 73.8, from 73.6.
Also at 10 a.m. EST, January business inventories are projected to show 0.2% growth, after a 0.2% decline in December.
Agrium(AGU) said it will stop pursuing its $5.4 billion acquisition of CF Industries(CF).
In earnings news, Goldcorp(GG) surpassed analysts' profit estimates by a penny, lifting shares in the premarket session by 0.2%.
Oil prices were boosted by a report from the International Energy Agency forecasting higher global oil demand in 2010, mainly from Asian countries. Crude oil for April delivery was trading 58 cents higher at $82.69 a barrel.
The April gold contract added $8.70 to trade at $1,116.90 an ounce.
The dollar was trading lower against a basket of currencies, with the dollar index down by 0.6%.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury weakened 2/32, lifting the yield to 3.735%.
Overseas, Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.09%, and Japan's Nikkei gained 0.8%. The FTSE in London added 0.2%, and the DAX in Frankfurt rose 0.6%.
