Stocks look ready to continue yesterday's sideways trend this morning, as the S&P 500 futures are currently trading in line with fair value. The S&P 500 enters today's session with a weekly gain of 0.6% and remains roughly 0.5% below the all-time high it hit back in January.

Looking at other markets, U.S. Treasuries are slightly higher, pushing yields lower across the curve, with the benchmark 10-yr yield down one basis point at 2.96%. Meanwhile, WTI crude futures have slipped 0.2% to $66.80/bbl after hitting a six-week low on Wednesday, and the U.S. Dollar Index is up 0.1% at 85.08.

Investors will receive several pieces of economic data this morning, the most notable of which is the Producer Price Index for July (Briefing.com consensus +0.3%), which will cross the wires at 8:30 ET. The weekly Initial Claims report (Briefing.com consensus 220K) will also be released at 8:30 ET, while the Wholesale Inventories report for June (Briefing.com consensus 0.0%) is due at 10:00 ET.

As for earnings, today's lineup is relatively light as the Q2 earnings season comes to a close. At this juncture, nearly 90% of S&P 500 companies have reported their quarterly results, and, of those companies, around 77% have reported better-than-expected profits.

In U.S. corporate news:

• 21st Century Fox (FOXA 45.56, +0.10): +0.2% after beating both earnings and revenue estimates.
• CenturyLink (CTL 19.30, +0.76): +4.1% after reporting in-line earnings and revenues.
• Yelp (YELP 44.10, +5.94): +15.6% after reporting above-consensus revenues and raising the bottom of its revenue guidance for FY18.
• Roku (ROKU 52.45, +5.20): +11.0% after beating earnings and revenue estimates and raising its guidance for FY18.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Equity indices in the Asia-Pacific region ended Thursday on a mostly higher note with China's Shanghai Composite fighting to stay above its lowest level of the year. Japan's Nikkei -0.2%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.9%, China's Shanghai Composite +1.8%, India's Sensex +0.4%.
  • In economic data:
    • China's July CPI +0.3% month-over-month (expected 0.2%; last -0.1%); +2.1% year-over-year (expected 2.0%; last 1.9%). July PPI +4.6% year-over-year (expected 4.4%; last 4.7%)
    • Japan's June Core Machinery Orders -8.8% month-over-month (expected -1.2%; last -3.7%); +0.3% year-over-year (expected 9.5%; last 16.5%). July Machine Tool Orders +13.0% year-over-year (last 11.4%). M2 Money Stock +3.0% year-over-year (expected 3.1%; last 3.2%)
    • South Korea's June M2 Money Supply +6.6% year-over-year (last 6.7%)
  • In news:
    • It has been reported that HSBC, Standard Chartered, and Bank of China will increase their mortgage rates in Hong Kong next week.
    • China's Commerce Ministry confirmed that tariffs on $16 billion worth of goods from the U.S. will take effect in two weeks.
    • The Reserve Bank of New Zealand left its official cash rate at 1.75%, but Governor Adrian Orr revealed that the bank now expects to leave rates unchanged into 2020 due to concerns about slower growth over the next year.

• Major European indices trade on a lower note. Germany's DAX -0.3%, France's CAC -0.4%, UK's FTSE -0.8%.
  • In economic data:
    • Swiss July Unemployment Rate 2.6%, as expected (last 2.6%)
  • In news:
    • Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio noted that he is seeking a confrontation, but not a clash, with the European Union. Mr. Di Maio vowed to use tough tactics in Italy's budget battle with the EU. Italy's Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he sees the introduction of a flat tax and a basic income as a five-year process.
    • British Prime Minister Theresa May praised the United States for imposing sanctions on Russia over the alleged use of a chemical agent in the United Kingdom. A Russian representative at the United Nations said the sanctions are "the theater of the absurd."
  • Headlines provided by Briefing.com
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