S&P 500 futures are up 0.3%. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are gaining 0.3%. Nasdaq 100 futures are advancing 0.4%. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 138 points, or 0.31%, to 44,

U.S. stock index futures rose ahead of a truncated trading session on Friday, with Wall Street's main indexes on track for monthly gains as the holiday shopping season kicked off on a brisk note and investor attention shifted to retail stocks.

Stocks looked set to gain on Friday ahead of a shortened half day of trading on Black Friday. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 132 points, or 0.3%. Contracts tied to the S&P 500 also rose 0.

His tradition started after going out on Black Friday. “We were just amazed at the number of people that were standing outside that early in the morning and that cold. It was just unbelievable,” Schlemer said.