By Fred Imbert, CNBC–

  • At around 05:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 68 points, indicating a positive open of more than 75 points.
  • Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both marginally higher.
  • The Dow is looking to surpass an intraday record high of 27,398.68, while the S&P 500 is closing in on its previous record of 3,027.98 points.

U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher Friday morning, putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P on the brink of registering all-time record highs.

At around 05:30 a.m. ET, Dow futures rose 68 points, indicating a positive open of more than 75 points. Futures on the S&P and Nasdaq were both marginally higher.

The Dow is looking to surpass an intraday record high of 27,398.68, while the S&P 500 is closing in on its previous record of 3,027.98 points. Each index finished the previous session only slightly higher, short of their respective records.

Market focus is largely attuned to global trade developments, as the world’s two largest economies continued to prepare for talks in early October aimed at breaking their trade war impasse.

On Thursday, the U.S. welcomed China’s renewed purchases of American farm goods, with President Donald Trump saying it was expected Beijing would purchase “large amounts” of agricultural products.

His comments came after his decision to delay increasing tariffs on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods from Oct. 1 to Oct. 15 as a “gesture of good will” to China.

The U.S. and China have imposed tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of one another’s goods since the start of 2018, battering financial markets and souring business and consumer sentiment.

Elsewhere, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a massive new bond-buying program on Thursday, in a bid to stimulate ailing euro zone economy. The ECB also cut its main deposit rate by 10 basis points to -0.5%, a record low but in line with market expectations.

The U.S. Federal Reserve, Bank of Japan and Bank of England will all conclude their respective policy meetings next week.

On the data front, retail sales for August and import prices for August will be released at around 8:30 a.m. ET. Consumer sentiment for September and business inventories for July will follow slightly later in the session.