Futures are lower
Stock futures were lower ahead of the opening bell on Friday, and crude oil continued to fall.
Near 8:53 a.m. ET, Dow futures were down 71 points, S&P 500 futures were down 6 points, and Nasdaq futures up 2.
Stocks closed lower yesterday with a sharp sell-off happening in the final half hour of trading. The major indexes closed down more than 1%, and the Dow lost 253 points.
Crude oil prices were hovering around the lowest levels since February 2009. This week, the Energy Information Administration reported a build in US crude inventories by 4.8 million barrels, more than expected.
Meanwhile, the Canadian dollar crashed to a 12-year low and above 1.4000 per US dollar after data showed that the Consumer Price Index had its largest drop in two years in November.
The economic data calendar is light today, with Markit services PMI at 9:45 a.m. ET and Baker Hughes' rig count at 1 p.m.