Futures Point To Lower Opening For Wall Street

Personal Income and Spending, Consumer Sentiment, and Pending Home Sales reports might have an impact on the market movement on Friday.

Earnings results of Juniper Networks (JNPR), U.S. Steel (X), Visa (V), and Western Digital (WDC) are expected today.

Asian shares finished broadly lower, while European shares are trading down.
Initial signs from the U.S. Futures Index point to a lower opening.

As of 7.35 am ET, the Dow futures were down 195.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 27.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 120.25 points.

The major U.S. Indices finished positive on Thursday. The Dow surged up 300.19 points or 1 percent to 30,603.36, the Nasdaq climbed 66.56 points or 0.5 percent to 13,337.16 and the S&P 500 jumped 36.61 points or 1 percent to 3,787.38.

On the economic front, the Employment Cost Index for the fourth quarter will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.5 percent, while it was 0.5 percent in the previous quarter.

The Commerce Department’s Personal Income and Outlays for December will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for growth of 0.1 percent, while it was down 1.1 percent in the previous month.

The Market News International’s Chicago PMI for January is scheduled at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 58.5, while it was up 59.5 in December.

The Institute for Social Research’s Consumer Sentiment for January will be revealed at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 79.2, while it was 79.2 in the previous month.

National Association of Realtors’ Pending Home Sales Index for December will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 0.3 percent, while it was down 2.6 percent in the prior month.

The Baker Hughes North American rig count for the week will be issued at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 550 and the U.S. rig count was 378.

The Agricultural Department’s Farm Prices for December is scheduled at 3.00 pm ET. In the previous month, the Farm Prices were up 4.1 percent.

Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan will participate in moderated question-and-answer session before the virtual North Dallas Chamber of Commerce Annual Energy Forum at 4.00 pm ET.

San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank President Mary Daly will participate in fireside chat at 5.25 pm ET.

Asian stocks retreated on Friday. Chinese shares ended lower. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index slid 22.11 points, or 0.63 percent, to 3,483.07. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended down 267.06 points, or 0.94 percent, at 28,283.71.

Japanese shares ended lower. The Nikkei average fell 534.03 points, or 1.89 percent, to 27,663.39. The broader Topix index closed 1.64 percent lower at 1,808.78.

Australian markets fell for a third straight session. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 dropped 42.30 points, or 0.64 percent, to 6,607.40, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 46.70 points, or 0.68 percent, at 6,870.90.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the German DAX is losing 104.13 points or 0.77 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is down 70.45 points or 1.09 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is declining 135.87 points or 1.26 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.96 percent.

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