U.S. stock futures pointed to slight losses Friday, clouding the Dow industrials' chance of a new closing high, as the surging dollar prompted worries about exporters.
The fresh strength in the dollar comes after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen signaled Thursday that a December interest-rate hike (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yellen-says-fed-may-hike-interest-rates-relatively-soon-2016-11-17) was likely to go ahead.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 25 points, or 0.1%, to 18,844, while S&P 500 futures eased 4.3 points, or 0.2%, to 2,179.75. Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 4.5 points to 4,823.75.
Wall Street finished a wobbly session slightly higher after Yellen's remarks on Thursday. The Dow ended up 0.2% at 18,903.82, just 20 points short of the all-time closing high, set Tuesday.
On Friday, the ICE Dollar Index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dollar-busts-past-110-for-the-first-time-in-months-2016-11-18) , which measures the currency against a basket of six rivals, shot to a fresh 13-year high. The greenback was trading at levels not seen in months against the Japanese yen .
"In a high growth environment, it is likely we will see investors moving into the U.S. as a source of capital appreciation," said Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG, in a note to clients.
"However, the hesitancy seen in U.S. stock markets is a clear nod to the fact that with such dollar appreciation comes an environment which is progressively more difficult for U.S. exporters," he added.
In a continuation of Thursday's action, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose 1 basis point to 2.31%.