By Devik Jain

(Reuters) – U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday as Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:) and technology stocks led gains at the end of a week scarred by deepening concerns over prolonged inflation.

As hot inflation numbers slowed investor sentiment, all major U.S. indices saw a weekly decline of more than 1%. This was their first drop since Oct. 1. It also halted an earnings-driven streak that had seen record close highs.

Johnson & Johnson jumped 4.7% in premarket trading after the drugmaker said it is planning to break up into two companies focused on its consumer health division and the large pharmaceuticals unit.

Stocks in mega-cap communication and technology stocks, including Alphabet, owned by Google (NASDAQ:) Inc., Tesla (NASDAQ;) Inc. Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ): Meta Platforms Inc., previously known as Facebook (NASDAQ), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ) and Amazon.com.com (NASDAQ) have also been increasing.

Elon Musk, Tesla’s top executive, has sold more shares of its electric car manufacturer, regulatory filings revealed. This was after selling off about $5 Billion worth stock in response to a tweet he published (NYSE:

As the holiday shopping season draws near, market participants are concerned that rising price pressures around the world will continue to be a major concern.

At 10 AM ET, a survey by the University of Michigan about consumer sentiment in November is due. The Labor Department’s monthly JOLTS Report and a poll on the University of Michigan are also due.

At 06.48 a.m. ET was up 109, or 0.3%. ET was up 10.5, or 0.23%. ET was up 41.25, or0.26%.

U.S. listed shares Alibaba (NYSE.) Group Holding lost 0.4% as the giant e-commerce company said that sales, also known as gross merchandise values, increased at the slowest pace ever during Singles Day. It is a sign of the difficulties facing tech companies in China.

Biogen Inc (NASDAQ) rose 2.1% following late-stage research that showed Aduhelm, a drug for Alzheimer’s disease, significantly reduced blood levels of an abnormally formed of protein tau.

Sources told Reuters that President Joe Biden is expected to host a virtual summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday amid tensions about trade and human rights.