US futures lower ahead of CPI, consumer sentiment

(FILES) This file photo taken on January 7, 2016 shows the corner of Wall and Broad Street across from the New York Stock Exchange. US stocks opened little changed August 1, 2016, launching a week of key corporate earnings and economic data culminating with the July jobs report. Dow members Pfizer and Procter & Gambler report earnings August 2, while the August 5 July jobs report is expected to show the US added 185,000 jobs last month. / AFP PHOTO / TIMOTHY A. CLARYTIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images ORG XMIT: US stocks ORIG FILE ID: AFP_DR1H9

U.S. stock index futures indicated a lower open on Friday morning as traders eyed the release of key inflation data and looked ahead to next week’s meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve.

On the data front, CPI is due at 8:30 a.m. ET, with consumer sentiment set to come out at 10:00 a.m. Markets will focus on what the data means for the Fed, but any action at its meeting next week has largely been written off.

In oil markets, Brent crude traded at around $45.98 a barrel on Friday morning, down 1.31 percent, while U.S. crude was around $43.41 a barrel, down 1.14 percent.