The prevailing thought on Wall Street this morning: "thank goodness it's Friday."  The pure exhaustion that was this week's market has left participants strained as volatility reigned supreme.  The S&P 500 daily intraday ranges are the highest they have been since March 2009. 

So far, the tape is heading in the right direction as the market appears to be operating with a bit more of a sense of calm. 

After Thursday's monstrous run, U.S. equity futures are pointing to a modestly higher open as investors digest news flow out of Europe and key U.S. economic reports.

July retail sales were expected to rise a modest 0.5%, with the ex-auto number coming in at 0.2%.  The numbers came in better than expected with total sales in-line while the ex-auto figure came in higher at 0.5%.  The trend has improved from June after the contraction in May -- the June figures were also revised higher.  Following the release, futures showed modest gains.

The primary concern is that the net effect of a rout on Wall Street, coupled with the utter lack of confidence in Washington will further serve to weigh on consumer sentiment, causing spending to contract.  To that point, around 9:55 a.m. ET comes Michigan Sentiment -- the first economic data point for the month of August.  The consensus is 62.5 versus the prior reading of 63.7.  Also out will be June Business Inventories, where the estimate is 0.5% versus the prior of 1.0%.

The retail sales data come on the heels of a worse than expected report from Dillard's (DDS), where sales rose 3.8% in the second quarter and are expected to rise only 2-3% in the next.  J.C. Penney (JCP) forecast third quarter earnings in the range of $0.15-0.20 per share, below the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.25.  NVIDIA (NVDA) shares were higher, though, after the company reported a better-than-expected quarter.

The whipsaw action in commodities continues.  Oil is heading for its third weekly decline, currently trading at $86 per barrel.  The agriculture sector continues to show relative outperformance, with corn holding at $7 per bushel, soybeans at $13.35 per bushel and wheat also at $7 per bushel.

There is no better place to witness the uncertainty than gold and U.S. Treasuries. Gold is resting just under its historic $1,800 per ounce high (currently $1,755 in electronic trading) while U.S. government bonds remain near record lows.  The 10- and the 2-year yields are trading at 2.30% and 0.18%, respectively.

In overnight action, Asian indices were mixed with South Korea, Taiwan, and India all lower while China, Australia, and Singapore rebounded. The Nikkei declined below 9,000 after Japan cut its growth forecasts to 0.5% from 1.5%, reflecting the impact on factory output after the earthquake.  The economy is expected to grow 2.7-2.9% next year. 

The upswing continued in European trading, however.  Concerns over the financial sector, particularly French banks, remain.  Reminiscent of 2008, European regulators have responded in kind.  France, Spain, Italy, and Belgium have together banned short-selling (following Greece and Turkey earlier in the week) in order to stem what they deemed as "European abuses in the system."  The move helped to boost buying interest, but the question is sustainability given the region's enduring economic woes.

--Kimberly DuBord

Kimberly DuBord is the Director of Research for Briefing Research, Briefing.com's new strategic investment research service. To request a free trial please email researchsales@briefing.com.