The S&P 500 dipped nearly 0.2% to 4,473.75 when investors digested the mixed economic readings released Thursday.

August retail sales surprised the market and rose 0.7% from the month prior, the Census Bureau reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones expected a 0.8% month-over-month decline.

Meanwhile, the latest unemployment insurance weekly data showed 332,000 first-time jobless claims last week. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a total of 320,000 initial claims.

Friday marks a key date for the market as the final third of September historically sees the worst performance of the month. The S&P 500 typically peaks around Sept. 17 before selling off into the end of September.

Stock futures were steady in early morning trading on Friday as investors remain cautious about the month of September.

The Nasdaq Composite was the outperformer, rising 0.13% as Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon all closed in the green.

The Census Bureau reported Thursday that August's retail sales increased 0.7% for the month against the Dow Jones estimate of a decline of 0.8%. However, the retail sales beat came after the initial estimate for July was revised down sharply from a month-over-month gain of 0.5% to a decline of 1.8%.

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Plan A : Remain buy as long as oil price trades firmly above 70.9. Targets are 73.1 and 74.2.

Plan B : Consider short if oil price surges but fails to breach above 73.1. Targets are 72.5 and 70.9.