Wall Street Targets Lower Opening

Trading on Friday might be influenced by reports on personal income and spending, Chicago-area business activity, and consumer sentiment.

Concerns over the pandemic flareups are worrying investors.

Reaction to the latest earnings reports of Amazon (AMZN), First Solar (FSLR), Pinterest (PINS), and T-Mobile (TMUS) might be a focus on the day.

Asian shares finished lower, while European shares are trading mostly lower.
Initials signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open in negative.

As of 8.05 am ET, the Dow futures were down 109.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 30.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 172.25 points.

The U.S. major averages managed to remain positive on Thursday. The Dow climbed 153.60 points or 0.4 percent to 35,084.53, the Nasdaq inched up 15.68 points or 0.1 percent to 14,778.26 and the S&P 500 rose 18.51 points or 0.4 percent to 4,419.15.

On the economic front, the Employment Cost Index for the second quarter will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.9 percent, while it was up 0.9 percent in the prior quarter.

The Commerce Department’s Personal Income and Outlays for June will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a decline of 0.7 percent, while it was down 2.0 percent in the previous month.

Market News International’s Chicago PMI of July will be published at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 66.1 while it was up 66.1 in the prior month.

The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment for July will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 80.8, while it was up 80.8 in June.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be released at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was $640 and the U.S. rig count was 491.

The Agriculture Department’s Farm Prices for June will be released at 3.00 pm ET. In the prior month the price was up 1.8 percent.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard will speak on the U.S. economy and monetary policy before European Economics and Financial Centre Virtual Event via Zoom at 9.00 am ET.

Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard to speak on “Rebuilding the Post-Pandemic Economy” before Annual Meeting of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group at 8.30 pm ET.

Asian stocks fell on Friday. Chinese shares ended lower amid fears of foreign investor exodus. The benchmark Shanghai Composite index slipped 14.37 points, or 0.42 percent, to 3,397.36 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended down 354.29 points, or 1.35 percent, at 25,961.03.

Japanese shares hit over six-month lows amid earnings disappointments. The Nikkei average slumped 498.83 points, or 1.80 percent, to 27,283.59.

The broader Topix index finished down 1.37 percent at 1,901.08.

Australian markets ended lower. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 24.80 points, or 0.33 percent, to 7,392.60 while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 31 points, or 0.40 percent, at 7,664.20.

European shares are trading mostly lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is down 13.88 points or 0.21 percent. The German DAX is losing 125.94 points or 0.81 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is sliding 60.00 points or 0.85 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is adding 9.96 points or 0.08 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.62 percent.