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* Futures: S&P up 0.1%, Dow and Nasdaq flat
By Ambar Warrick and Shreyashi Sanyal
Dec 18 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were flat on
Friday as major indexes appeared set to take a breather from a
series of strong gains, while anticipation of a coronavirus
stimulus package grew ahead of a weekend deadline.
Markets were anticipating increased trading volumes in the
day due to the expiration of stock index futures, stock index
options, stock options and single stock futures at the end of
trade - also known as quadruple witching.
Wall Street's three major indexes had ended at record highs
on Thursday as the passing of a bill seemed imminent, with
bipartisan lawmakers saying the pandemic's worsening toll meant
that failure to agree on new stimulus was no longer an option.
Dismal retail sales data and unemployment claims through the
week were also seen as furthering the case for more stimulus.
The prospect of continued monetary and fiscal stimulus has
helped stocks look past the economic ructions from the virus,
and set them up for strong annual gains, despite a rocky start
to the year.
U.S. S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 4.25 points, or 0.11%
at 06:17 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis 1YMcv1 were up 12 points, or
0.04%, while Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 were down 0.25 points.
Wall Street indexes were also set to end the week higher,
with the Nasdaq .IXIC set to outperform its peers with a 3.1%
gain on sustained buying into technology stocks.
Tech major Microsoft Corp MSFT.O shed 0.5% in premarket
trade after the company said it found malicious software in its
systems related to a massive hacking campaign disclosed by U.S.
officials this week. FedEx Corp FDX.N fell 2.8% after the package delivery
company declined to give an earnings forecast for 2021, even as
its quarterly profit almost doubled. Shares of rival United Parcel Service Inc UPS.N also
declined 0.9%.
Centene Corp CNC.N dropped 1.3% after the health insurer
forecast 2021 adjusted profit below Wall Street estimates, as it
said enrollment in its Obamacare plans was not coming in as
expected.
Retail stocks including those of Kohl's Corp KSS.N ,
Walmart Inc WMT.N and Macy's Inc M.N rose between 0.5% and
2.6% after the National Retail Federation said over 150 million
American shoppers could buy holiday gifts in stores or online
this year on the last Saturday before Christmas, or "Super
Saturday," up by more than 2 million from last year.