Stock futures flat as G-20 meets; UMich awaited

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) � U.S. stock futures hugged the flat line on Friday following encouraging manufacturing data from the New York region, as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 countries meet in Moscow against a backdrop of rising currency tensions.

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S&P 500 Index futures SPH3 fell 0.7 point, or 0.1%, to 1,517.80, while futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJH3 dropped 9 points to 13,941.

Nasdaq 100 futures NDH3 rose 1.50 points to 2,768.7.

Futures received a mild boost after the New York Federal Reserve Bank said that the Empire State manufacturing index moved into positive territory in February for the first time since July.

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Separately, industrial production slipped 0.1% in January after the Federal Reserve found the final two months of last year were stronger than initially estimated.

More economic data are due on Friday. Consumer sentiment is expected to rise in early February, led by higher stock prices, according to analysts polled by MarketWatch. Economists expect the consumer-sentiment index from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters to increase to a preliminary February reading of 75 from a final January reading of 73.8, despite continuing fiscal uncertainty, and higher payroll taxes and gas prices. The data are due at 9:55 a.m.

Investors are also watching a G-20 meeting in Moscow.

The Wall Street Journal said G-20 officials will pledge to make sure that monetary policy is focused on price stability and growth, rather than weakening their respective currencies, according to the draft of a statement they intend to release Saturday.

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Fears of a currency war have been stoked as Japan�s yen has tumbled sharply since last fall in response to aggressive monetary and fiscal stimulus efforts. A weaker yen makes Japan�s exports more attractive. The yen�s decline has aggravated officials from several countries, stoking fears of a round of competitive devaluations, or a �currency war,� that could destabilize the global economy.

The final communiqu�, however, won�t mention any individual currencies, a senior G-20 official told the newspaper, despite calls from some members for a more forceful statement. Also read The Tell: Russian meteor christens G-20 meeting

Reuters Enlarge Image The trail of a falling object is seen above a residential apartment block in the Urals city of Chelyabinsk.

�As the currency wars heat up, the focus remains on Japan and what the G-20 has to say about their efforts to devalue the yen,� said Rebecca O�Keeffe, head of investment at Interactive Investor in London.

Closer to home, U.S. investors will also pay close heed to any developments in the effort to head off looming sharp cuts to defense and domestic spending.

Senate Democrats on Thursday offered a plan that would come up with half of the $110 billion needed to prevent the sharp cuts � known as the sequester � through new revenue, and half through spending cuts. See: Senate Democrat sequester replacement plan unveiled.

Cleveland Fed President Sandra Pianalto is scheduled to speak at 9:50 a.m. Eastern. Pianalto has supported Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke�s aggressive easing policies and is expected to continue to do so. Any sign that she is distancing herself from the policies would be major news.

Kraft Foods Group Inc. KRFT on Friday raised its full-year 2013 profit forecast to $2.75 a share from $2.60, with a boost from a change in post-employment benefit accounting partly offset by an increase in expected restructuring costs due to a shift in expenses from 2012 to 2013. Read: Kraft misses views, raises 2013 forecast

Shares of Herbalife Ltd. HLF surged 22% in thin trade after rallying late Thursday. Activist investor Carl Icahn disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he had accumulated a 12.98% stake and that he thinks the company has �a legitimate business model, with favorable long-term opportunities for growth.� See: Herbalife surges, Agilent falls after hours.

Icahn and fellow hedge-fund titan Bill Ackman feuded on live television in January over the merits of Herbalife. Ackman�s Pershing Square Capital Management previously established a large short position on Herbalife, a company Ackman has described as a �well-managed pyramid scheme.�