By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
MADRID (MarketWatch) -- Stock futures leaned lower, with techs
in particular setting up for a weak showing on Friday as Amazon.com
Inc. began tumbling in premarket after posting disappointing
results.
Investors were readying for durable goods data before the
opening bell as well.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) fell 27
points to 16,971, while those for the S&P 500 index (SPU4)
eased 3.5 points to 1,977.20. The real pain was starting to show up
on futures for the Nasdaq-100 index (NDU4) , down 13.75 points, or
0.4%, to 3,958.
Investors howled with disappointment over Amazon.com(AMZN) and a
wider-than-expected second-quarter loss late Thursday. In thin,
premarket volume, shares were down 10%. Also read: Is Amazon
spending like a drunken sailor?
Pandora Media(P) dived 7% in premarket action, after the
Internet-based radio company posted wider losses late Thursday.
Starbucks Corp.(SBUX) was another loser, off over 2% in
premarket. The company posted a 22% profit rise and lifted its
outlook. But some viewed its 2015 outlook as cautious.
Investors will get a small respite from this week's heavy
barrage of earnings. Just a handful of names are due to report,
including Stanley Black & Decker Inc. (SWK) and Xerox Corp.
(XRX)
But the day's trading debuts include fast-food chain El Pollo
Loco(LOCO), which priced shares at $15, the top of the range.
At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, a report on durable-goods orders for
June will be released. Economists polled by MarketWatch expect
orders rose 0.2%, which would reverse a 1% decline in May. The
report is often volatile, with swings reported from one month to
the next.
Next week has the potential to be big for economic news, with a
Federal Open Market Committee meeting and the monthly jobs report
topping a long list of data on the docket.
Some analysts said markets could make slow progress on Friday,
given investors may be nervous about the potential for more
geopolitical tensions from Russia or Gaza through the weekend.
Read: U.S. says Russian artillery firing into Ukraine.
The S&P 500 (SPX) closed on Thursday at an all-time high for
the 27th time this year, but the Dow industrials (DJI) and Nasdaq
Composite (RIXF) both ended the day slightly lower.
Naeem Aslam, chief market analyst at AvaTrade, said U.S. indexes
have started to show signs of divergence.
"Technically speaking, when indexes have a divergence between
them, it is an early sign of correction, and under the situation
when one index is moving up and the rest moving in the opposite
direction, it is like a smoke coming out before the fire," said
Aslam in emailed comments.
European stocks drifted into the red on Friday, with German
stocks under pressure after weaker-than-expected German Ifo
business sentiment data. The blue-chip MICEX in Russia fell 1.5%.
Russia's central bank hiked interest rates on Friday, citing
geopolitical tensions and the potential impact on the ruble and
rising inflation as reasons. The European Commission submitted
proposals on new sanctions for Russia linked to the Ukraine crisis
on Thursday.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 index rallied more than 1% on Friday to
the highest settlement in six months, as the yen weakened and
domestic inflation data met market expectations. China's Shanghai
Composite also put on a strong performance, up 1.1%.
Crude oil (CLU4) was flat, and gold (GCU4) was slightly higher.
The euro (EURUSD) fell against the dollar after the weak German Ifo
data.
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