Stock futures flat after volatile week, oil drops again

NEW YORK - U.S. #stock #index #futures were little changed on Friday as #investors held off on making bets following a volatile week that was marked by sharp swings in both directions.
The #benchmark #S&P #500 posted its biggest one-day gain since early February on Thursday, a rally that offset the biggest one-day loss since early January on Tuesday.

Equities have recently been driven by the U.S. dollar, with the S&P having a high inverse correlation to the currency. Thursday's equity rally corresponded with the biggest one-day drop in the U.S. dollar index <.dxy> in a month.
The dollar index has risen almost 2 percent this week, and is on track for a fourth week of gains. Investors see the continued strength in the greenback as a threat to multinational corporate profits. The index rose 0.1 percent on Friday.
#Wall #Street has also been focused on when the #Federal #Reserve will raise interest rates, with some strong economic data recently suggesting the first hike could come as early as June. Higher rates tend to raise borrowing costs for companies and individuals and crimp spending, though strong indicators are seen as better for the market in the long term.
Trading could be volatile ahead of next week's Fed meeting, when the central bank could provide further insight into when the first rate increase will come.
A preliminary read on March consumer sentiment will be released after the market opens, with the University of #Michigan #Surveys of Consumers seen essentially holding steady with the previous report.
Crude oil fell 1.7 percent, which could weigh on energy names. The commodity has fallen in six of the past seven sessions.
Walt Disney Co will be in focus after the company said it had started work on a sequel to "Frozen," the best-selling animated movie of all time. Shares rose 0.5 percent to $107.70 in premarket.
#FXCM Inc jumped 15 percent to $2.48 in heavy #premarket trading a day after the company reported fourth-quarter earnings that beat expectations. This was the currency broker's first quarterly report since the removal of the cap on the Swiss franc sparked massive losses that pushed it to take a rescue loan.

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