By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen weakening Friday, after disappointing news from a couple of tech giants and as a record-breaking week, highlighted by Joe Biden’s inauguration, comes to a close.
At 7:25 AM ET (1225 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 262 points, or 0.8%, S&P 500 Futures traded 29 points, or 0.8%, lower, and Nasdaq 100 Futures dropped 79 points, or 0.6%.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite closed at fresh record highs on Thursday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average just missed the same fate, ending marginally lower. All three indices are set to close the week with strong gains, the fifth higher week in six.
Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Wednesday, and will mark his third day in office by signing executive orders to boost food benefits for impoverished Americans as well as workers’ rights.
However, it’s the passage of his proposed $1.9 trillion stimulus package through Congress that is attracting attention, amid opposition from Republicans who question the size of the bill given last month’s $900 billion deal.
Staying in Washington, the Senate is expected later Friday to confirm Janet Yellen, a former head of the Federal Reserve, as Biden’s Treasury secretary.
In corporate news, the tech sector is set to be in focus Friday after both Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) reported quarterly results late Thursday. Both stocks are expected to head sharply lower, Intel weighed by the news that financially sensitive information had been hacked as well as plans to do more licensing deals with rivals, while IBM missed revenue expectations.
The earnings season continues Friday, with oilfield services company Schlumberger (NYSE:SLB) and transportation holding company Kansas City Southern (NYSE:KSU) due, both offering slightly lower profiles than the two tech giants.
The data slate includes the final PMI data for January, but investors may study the existing home sales release for December to see whether the uptick in Covid-19 sales is hurting this previously buoyant sector.
Oil prices weakened Friday on concerns that a rise of Covid-19 cases in China, the world’s largest importer, will severely impact demand, given the reintroduction of restrictive measures.
Shanghai reported the first locally transmitted cases in two months on Thursday, while Beijing is now urging tens of millions of urban workers not to travel back to their largely rural families during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration is due to release its weekly inventory report later Friday, a couple of days later than usual. This follows the American Petroleum Institute recording crude inventories rising 2.6 million barrels earlier in the week.
U.S. crude futures traded 1.6% lower at $52.30 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 2.6% to $54.64.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.9% to $1,848.80/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.1% higher at 1.2175.