(Reuters] – U.S. Stock Index futures moved higher ahead of data, which could provide insight on U.S. consumer purchasing strength in the face of hot inflation. However, shares of Gap plunged following the retailer’s reduction of its annual forecast.

At 08:30 AM, the Commerce Department will release its report. ET should show 0.7% increase in consumer spending in April. This compares to a 1.1% rise in March. Inflation remains hot due to higher fuel and food costs.

The core personal consumption expenditures price Index climbed 0.3% last month after rising at the same speed in March. Another set of numbers will likely show this.

Wall Street’s key indexes finished sharply higher after Thursday’s optimistic retail earnings outlook. Mixed economic data, and less-hawkish minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting brought buyers back into the market to ease concerns over aggressive interest rates hikes.

All three major indexes have been on track to break their longest weekly losing streaks for decades. Blue-chip Dow and benchmark have both gained over 4% so far, while tech-heavy Nasdaq has gained 3.4%.

They are all seeing their highest weekly gains since mid-March.

At 06:25 AM. ET was up 33 points or 0.1%. ET was up 12 points or 0.3%. ET was up 57.25 or 0.47%.

Gap Inc (NYSE 🙂 plunged 19.1% during premarket trading following a larger-than-expected quarter loss. The clothing retailer also lowered its annual forecasts due to low demand and decades-high inflation.

Costco Wholesale Corp (NASDAQ 🙂 dropped 2% in February after Costco Wholesale Corp, a membership-only retailer, reported a drop in gross margins due to soaring labor and freight costs throughout the United States.

After posting a positive quarterly profit and revenue, Dell Technologies (NYSE 🙂 Inc surged 12.4%. This was due to large investments by enterprises in support of hybrid work.

CBOE’s volatility index dropped for the third consecutive session, and last stood at 27.18.