US Stocks Today | US stock futures muted ahead of economic data

U.S. stock index futures were flat on Friday as investors waited for key economic data to gauge the path of monetary policy easing for the year, while keeping an eye on tensions with Tehran and a possible U.S. Supreme Court decision on Trump’s tariffs.A slew of economic reports on Friday, including the preliminary estimate of US fourth-quarter GDP, the Personal Consumption Expenditure Index – the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge – and February business activity and consumer confidence data are expected to provide insight into the health of the US economy.

According to a Reuters poll of economists, data as of 8:30 a.m. ET is expected to show U.S. GDP rose an annualized 3.0% last quarter, after growing 4.4% in the July-September quarter.“The market valuation of growth has been more choppy compared to the signal from the data,” economists at Goldman Sachs said in a note.

“We think there is room for cyclical assets to continue to receive support from the continued tailwinds of a warming U.S. economy, while providing protection against risks and valuation challenges in other areas.”

Technology stocks have been under pressure in recent months due to concerns about high valuations and limited evidence that massive investments in AI are paying off. Industries ranging from software to real estate were plagued last week by concerns that new AI models would upend their business models.

The mood among U.S. stock investors has been largely steady this week, with the exception of Thursday, when a decline in private equity stocks and shares of Apple and Walmart shook sentiment. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court could rule on Friday on the legality of President Donald Trump’s broad emergency tariffs. If they are eliminated, there is a risk that more than $175 billion in U.S. tariff collections will have to be refunded, according to Penn-Wharton Budget Model economists.

Oil prices fell from their highest level in six months as investors assessed the fallout from growing tensions between Washington and Tehran, with US President Donald Trump warning Iran that it must make a deal on its nuclear program or “really bad things” would happen.

At 6:09 a.m. ET, the S&P 500 e-minis were down 3 points, or 0.04%, the Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 3.25 points, or 0.01%, and the Dow E-minis were down 39 points, or 0.08%.

Akamai Technologies fell 10.9% premarket after the cloud company forecast first-quarter adjusted earnings that were lower than Wall Street estimates.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related companies rose as Bitcoin rose 1.4% to $67,840. Crypto exchange operator Coinbase added 1.5%, while Bitcoin Hoarder Strategy rose 1.6%.