US futures edge higher as investors await data that could show inflation is running at 40-year highs

• US futures inched higher Friday, ahead of key consumer inflation data later on.
• The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases November CPI, which could show the biggest jump in 40 years.
• Hotter inflation could cause the Fed to increase the pace of tapering, one analyst said.

US stock futures marked modest gains Friday, after the benchmark $4 index closed the previous day on a sour note, as investors awaited inflation data later in the day that could put more pressure on the Federal Reserve to clamp down on rising prices.

$4 were up 0.26%, $4 climbed 0.13% and $4 gained 0.27% in early European trading Friday, indicating a modest rise at the market open later.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its consumer price index for November, which analysts surveyed by Bloomberg expect to have risen by 6.8% compared with the previous year. This would be the biggest jump since June 1982, according to Bloomberg data. October inflation already hit a 31-year high of 6.2%.

"We can see today's report as a proxy for next week's Federal Reserve meeting, because the hotter inflation, the more pressure it piles on the Fed to increase their pace of tapering," Matt Simpson, analyst at City Index, said.

Asian stocks broadly fell overnight after Fitch Ratings said it considered embattled Chinese property developer Evergrande to be in $4.

$4was down 0.18% and Hong Kong's $4 fell 1.24%. Tokyo's $4 was 1% lower.

"A massive debt restructuring exercise now beckons for China's more highly leveraged property developers, raising fears that China growth will take a dip next year. That will be enough to keep Asian currencies and regional stock markets nervous," Jeffrey Halley, senior market analyst at OANDA, currency data provider said.

In Europe, the pan-continental $4 index was down 0.35%. The $4 eased 0.1% as employees were encouraged to work from home from Monday because of the Omicron variant and after data showed the UK economy virtually ground to a halt in October, expanding by just 0.1% month-over-month, the slowest pace in three months, and below expectations for 0.4%.

Elsewhere in markets, oil rose. $4 was up at 0.55% to $74.42 a barrel, while $4 was higher at 0.92% to $71.26 a barrel.

Cryptocurrencies slid again, driven lower by the prospect of another boost to the dollar from a strong inflation reading later on, and given the caution towards risk assets because of the Omicron virus variant. $4 fell 1.75%, $4 4.42%, solana's sol lost 5.4% and $4's ada fell 4.4%.

Bond yields rose, with the yield on the $4 gaining 3 basis points to trade around 1.51%. The $4 climbed 0.15% to 96.35.