U.S. Stocks May See Further Downside Amid Interest Rate Concerns

After coming under pressure late in the previous session, stocks may see further downside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.6 percent.

Concerns about the outlook for interest rates may continue to weigh on Wall Street following Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s remarks on Thursday suggesting the central bank doesn’t need to hurry to lower rates.

Citing the strength of the U.S. economy, Powell said the Fed can take a careful approach to future monetary policy decisions.

The futures remained firmly negative territory following the release of the latest batch of U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department showing retail sales increased by slightly more than expected in October.

The Commerce Department said retail sales rose by 0.4 percent in October after growing by an upwardly revised 0.8 percent in September.

Economists had expected retail sales to climb by 0.3 percent compared to the 0.4 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding a surge in sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales inched up by 0.1 percent in October after jumping by 1.0 percent in September. Ex-auto sales were expected to rise by 0.3 percent.

The Labor Department also released a report showing an unexpected increase by import prices in the U.S. in the month of October, which may added to recent worries about stick inflation.

The report said import prices rose by 0.3 percent in October after falling by 0.4 percent in September. Economists had expected import prices to edge down by 0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices climbed by 0.8 percent in October following a revised 0.6 percent decrease in September.

Export prices were expected to slip to 0.1 percent compared to the 0.7 percent decline originally reported for the previous month.

Shortly before the start of trading, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of October. Industrial production is expected to dip by 0.3 percent in October, matching the decrease seen in September.

After showing a lack of direction for much of the session, stocks came under pressure in the latter part of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages slid more firmly into negative territory after spending most of the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line.

The major averages ended the day just off their lows of the session. The Dow slid 207.33 points or 0.5 percent to 43,750.86, the Nasdaq fell 123.07 points or 0.6 percent to 19,107.65 and the S&P 500 declined 36.21 points or 0.6 percent to 5,949.17.

In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region turned in a mixed performance during trading on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index rose by 0.3 percent, while China’s Shanghai Composite Index tumbled by 1.5 percent.

Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.4 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent.

In commodities trading, crude oil futures are sliding $0.39 to $68.31 a barrel after rising $0.27 to $68.70 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after falling $13.60 to $2,572.90 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are edging down $1 to $2,571.90 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 155.33 yen versus the 156.27 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0565 compared to yesterday’s $1.0530.