US STOCKS SNAPSHOT-Futures hold losses after December inflation data

U.S. stock index futures held on to their losses on Friday as investors assessed a largely in-line inflation reading to determine the timing of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy easing. Annually, it rose by 2.6%. The core figure, excluding volatile items like food and energy - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - rose by 0.2% on a monthly basis, compared with the 0.2% rise forecast.

U.S. stock index futures held on to their losses on Friday as investors assessed a largely in-line inflation reading to determine the timing of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy easing. The U.S. Commerce Department's report showed the personal consumption expenditure index rose by 0.2% month-on-month in December, in-line with expectations by economists polled by Reuters. Annually, it rose by 2.6%.

The core figure, excluding volatile items like food and energy - the Fed's preferred inflation gauge - rose by 0.2% on a monthly basis, compared with the 0.2% rise forecast. On an annual basis, it rose by 2.9%, compared with the estimated 3% climb.

At 8:34 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 96 points, or 0.25%, S&P 500 e-minis were down 9.25 points, or 0.19%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 88.25 points, or 0.5%.