Stock index futures were lower across the board Friday, as Wall Street nervously looked to Washington to see if a deal on the "fiscal cliff" could be struck before the end of the year.
President Barack Obama will meet congressional leaders from both parties at the White House at 3 p.m., just days before the deadline to reach a deal or see the a series of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes come into force. That could plunge the economy back into recession, some economists say.
Stocks fell on Thursday but recovered most of their intraday losses after the House of Representatives said it would come back to work to avoid the "fiscal cliff" this weekend.
