Fed easing still dominating investor attention

Wall Street stock futures were continuing to hold steady following the mid-week decision by the Federal Reserve to begin easing off on its easy-money stimulus policy.

Dow Jones industrial average index futures rose 0.1% and Nasdaq index futures added 0.2%. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures also crept upward — up 0.1%.

Fed policymakers decided to cut from January $5 billion each from the central bank's monthly purchases of U.S. Treasuries and mortgage backed securities. It also said it "will likely reduce the pace of asset purchases in further measured steps at future meetings."

U.S. stocks were little changed in the previous session, although the Dow did notch a new high.

THURSDAY: Stocks close mixed as Dow edges up to new high

In Asia, the People's Bank of China moved to inject liquidity after the interbank market showed stress, but concerns over a repeat of the summer's credit crunch weighed on the market. The country's central bank decided to hold steady on its monetary policy instead of opting for stimulus.

On Friday, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down by 0.4% to 22,806.28 and China's Shanghai composite dropped by 2.2% to 2,084.79. The regional heavyweight, the Nikkei 225 index, fell 0.1% to 15, 870.42.

The Standard & Poor's rating agency said it has downgraded the European Union's credit rating, stripping it of the highest grade of AAA. The major European benchmarks traded in a narrow range Friday.

Contributing: Associated Press