07:30 AM EDT, 05/16/2025 (MT Newswires) -- The benchmark US stock measures were pointing higher before the open Friday as traders digest the latest wholesale prices and retail sales data, as well as remarks by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on inflation.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq increased 0.2% each in premarket activity, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.3%. The S&P 500 and the Dow finished the previous trading session in the green, while the Nasdaq Composite posted its first decline in seven days.

Government data on Thursday showed that producer prices in the US unexpectedly declined last month as wholesale costs of services fell at the fastest pace on record. Retail sales barely grew in April as consumers pulled back on spending at gasoline stations and car dealerships.

Earlier in the week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a sequential rebound in consumer prices for last month, though the increase was smaller than Wall Street's estimates. Annual inflation eased to the lowest level since February 2021.

Powell said Thursday that inflation could be more volatile in the future than in the inter-crisis period of the 2010s as the economic backdrop has changed "significantly" since 2020.

"Longer-term interest rates are a good deal higher now, driven largely by real rates given the stability of longer-term inflation expectations," according to Powell. "We may be entering a period of more frequent, and potentially more persistent, supply shocks -- a difficult challenge for the economy and for central banks."

US Treasury yields moved down in premarket action, with the two-year rate losing 3.5 basis points to 3.94% and the 10-year rate retreating 5.5 basis points to 4.4%.

Friday's economic calendar has reports on housing starts and permits and import and export prices, both for April, at 8:30 am ET. The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment report for May is due at 10 am.

Richmond Fed Thomas Barkin is scheduled to speak at 6 pm, while San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly speaks at 8:40 pm.

Shares of Applied Materials ( AMAT ) dropped nearly 6% as the semiconductor equipment maker's fiscal second-quarter revenue trailed market expectations. Take-Two Interactive Software ( TTWO ) declined 3.1% as the video game publisher issued a downbeat bookings outlook for fiscal 2026.

Charter Communications ( CHTR ) and Cox Communications said Friday that they have agreed to combine their businesses in a deal that values Cox at $34.5 billion.

RBC Bearings ( RBC ) , Flowers Foods ( FLO ) and Brady (BRC) report their latest financial results before the bell, among others.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 0.2% to $61.50 a barrel before the opening bell. The weekly Baker Hughes domestic oil-and-gas rig count posts at 1 pm.

Gold decreased 0.6% to $3,208 per troy ounce, while bitcoin inclined 0.7% to $103,785.