1. Dow still close to 20,000 record

The Dow Jones industrial average has been trading just below the 20,000 level for the past two weeks. Based on premarket moves, it looks like that trend will continue Friday.

The Dow has never hit the 20,000 level before. It's currently sitting at 19,919.

U.S. stock futures are holding steady after stocks slid a bit on Thursday.

European markets are mixed in early trading. Asian markets are mostly ending the week in negative territory.

2. Economics

The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index for December is due out at 15:00 GMT.

Consumer spending is the what powers the U.S. economy, so it's important that American consumers are feeling confident and happy.

Also at 15:00 GMT, the Census Bureau is set to release its November new home sales report.

Today is the final full trading day before the Christmas long weekend.

3. Crucial day for banks

It's a hectic day in the banking sector.

Italian bank Monte dei Paschi is working on a government bailout that is expected to be worth billions. Trading in the bank's shares has been halted.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank (DB) and Credit Suisse (CS) have just announced deals with the U.S. government worth a total of $12.5 billion to settle claims over their roles in the U.S. mortgage meltdown of 2007 and 2008.

Deutsche Bank's deal is worth $7.2 billion while Credit Suisse said its tentative settlement is worth $5.3 billion.

Additionally, a federal lawsuit was launched Thursday accusing British bank Barclays (BCS) of defrauding investors who bought mortgage securities ahead of the financial crisis.

Shares in Deutsche Bank are rising by about 2% as investors show they're relieved the settlement costs weren't higher. Credit Suisse shares had risen earlier in the day, but are now down 1%.

Barclays shares are dipping by 1% in London.

4. U.K going strong despite Brexit

Britain's economy grew more strongly than expected in the third quarter, showing no sign of any slowdown from June's Brexit vote, but the country's current account deficit rose back towards record levels.

The economy expanded 0.6% in the three months to September, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday, revised up from an earlier reading of 0.5% that economists had expected to remain unchanged.

But growth was revised down by 0.1 percentage points in the first and second quarters of the year to 0.3 and 0.6% respectively.