U.S. stock index futures pointed to a flat open on the Wall Street amid hopes that European finance ministers will approve a 130 billion euro bailout for Greece. Consumer staples sector will be on the spotlight following a spate of corporate announcements from major food companies.
Mini Dow industrial average futures rose 38.00 points to 12,908.00. The Nasdaq Futures lost 0.50 points to 2,593.00. Standard and Poor's 500 futures inched 2.30 points higher to 1,357.10.
On the economic front, consumer price in U.S. rose less-than-forecast in the month of January. The consumer price index advanced 0.2 percent from 0.1 percent, but below economists' expectations of a 0.3 percent rise. Core inflation too increased 0.2 percent, yet below forecasts.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks extended their rally to close on a sharply positive note, buoyed by a slate of upbeat data from the labor and housing markets amid reports of progress towards a Greece debt deal.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: (CPB, GIS, HNZ, JWN, AMAT, DVA)
In corporate news, General Mills Inc. (NYSE:GIS) retreated 4.4 percent to $38.00 in premarket trading after the company slashed its fiscal 2012 EPS forecast, blaming weak volume performance across U.S. retail food categories. GIS also guided quarterly EPS below consensus.
Campbell Soup Co. (NYSE:CPB) advanced 1.3 percent to $32.50 in premarket trading after the food products company posted better-than-expected quarterly EPS, driven by sales gains at its Beverages business. CPB reported Q2 EPS of 64 cents, beating analysts' expectations of 62 cents. Sales were $2.112 billion, versus consensus estimate of $2.12 billion.
H.J. Heinz Co. (NYSE:HNZ) reported stronger-than-forecast EPS for Q3, driven by accelerating growth in emerging markets and strong Ketchup sales. HNZ earned 95 cents a share, before items, versus consensus estimate of 86 cents. Sales advanced 7.2 percent to $2.92 billion, topping expectations of $2.89 billion. Organic sales grew nearly 20% at emerging markets. The stock rose 2.5 percent to $53.40 in premarket.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) retreated 1.4 percent to $51.40 in premarket after the apparel retailer guided fiscal 2012 EPS below consensus. It sees EPS of $3.30 to $3.45 on same-store sales growth of 4 percent to 6 percent. Analysts' expect EPS of $3.58 for the full year. JWN posted Q4 EPS of $1.11 on sales of $3.17 billion. Consensus estimate called for EPS of $1.10 on sales of $3.17 billion for the quarter.
Applied Materials Inc.