Futures Pointing To Another Mixed Performance On Wall Street

The major U.S. index futures are pointing to another mixed performance on Wall Street in early trading on Friday. While the Dow futures are up by 0.2 percent, the Nasdaq futures down by 0.6 percent.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq may see further downside amid a steep drop by shares of Amazon (AMZN), with the online retail giant plunging by 13.9 percent in pre-market trading.

Amazon is likely to come under pressure after reporting mixed third quarter results and providing disappointing fourth quarter revenue guidance.

Tech giant Apple (AAPL) is also likely to be in focus after reporting better than expected fiscal fourth quarter earnings but slightly weaker than expected iPhone sales.

Meanwhile, shares of Intel (INTC) are seeing significant pre-market strength even though the semiconductor giant lowered its full-year guidance. Intel reported third quarter earnings that beat analyst estimates.

The Dow may also benefit from an advance by shares of Chevron (CVX), with the energy giant moving higher in pre-market trading after reporting third quarter results that exceeded expectations on both the top and bottom lines.

Fellow energy giant Exxon Mobil (XOM) is also seeing pre-market strength after reporting record profits in the third quarter due to higher energy prices.

Early trading may also be impacted by reaction to a Commerce Department report on personal income and spending that includes a reading on inflation said to be preferred by the Federal Reserve.

The report showed personal income and spending both increased by more than expected in the month of September, while core consumer price growth accelerated by slightly less than expected.

The Commerce Department said the annual rate of core consumer price growth accelerated to 5.1 percent in September from 4.9 percent in August.

Economists had expected the annual rate of growth in core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, to accelerate to 5.2 percent.

Not long after the start of trading, the University of Michigan is scheduled to release its revised reading on consumer sentiment in the month of October.

The consumer sentiment index for October is expected to be unrevised from the preliminary reading of 59.8, which was up from 58.6 in September.

The National Association of Realtors is also due to release its report on pending home sales in the month of September. Pending home sales are expected to tumble by 5.0 percent in September after slumping by 2.0 percent in August.

A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.

The major U.S. stocks indexes spent much of Wednesday’s session on opposite sides of the unchanged line and turned in another mixed performance during trading on Thursday.

While the Dow closed higher for the fifth straight session, reaching its best closing level in well over a month, the Nasdaq extended the sharp pullback seen in the previous session.

The Dow climbed 194.17 points or 0.6 percent to 32,033.28, but the Nasdaq tumbled 178.32 points or 1.6 percent to 10,792.67 and the S&P 500 fell 23.30 points or 0.6 percent to 3,807.30.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index slid by 0.9 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 2.3 percent.

The major European markets have also moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is just below the unchanged line, the German DAX Index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index are both down by 0.5 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are falling $0.56 to $88.52 a barrel after jumping $1.17 to $89.08 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after slipping $3.60 to $1,665.60 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $10.30 to $1,655.30 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 147.57 yen versus the 146.29 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $0.9952 compared to yesterday’s $0.9964.

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