Investing.com - U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Friday, amid uncertainty over whether the Federal Reserve will soon announce additional stimulus measures, after the release of U.S. data on durable goods orders.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.16% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.28% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% fall.
Official data showed that U.S. durable goods orders rose by 4.2% after a 1.6% rise in June, beating expectations for a 2.4% increase.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation items, fell unexpectedly in July, ticking down 0.4% after a 2.2% decline the previous month. Analysts had expected core durable goods orders to rise 0.5% in July.
The data came as reports on Thursday painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economic recovery, prompting investors to temper expectations for fresh easing measures by the U.S. central bank.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious as German Chancelor Angela Merkel was meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Berlin.
Following talks with French President Francois Hollande late Thursday, Merkel said that both leaders will maintain pressure on Greece to overhaul its economy, adding that she remained deeply convinced the Greek government is doing everything to solve the country's financial problems.
Apple was expected to be in the spotlight once again, amid reports the tech giant was counting on the popularity of its devices and political pressure to thwart efforts by Google's Motorola Mobility to block imports of the iPhone and iPad.
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. International Trade Commission was scheduled to announce later Friday whether iPhones and other Apple devices infringe Motorola Mobility patents and, if so, whether it will stop them from being imported into the U.S. from Asia. Apple shares were down 0.32% in pre-market trade.
Also slated to move lower, Autodesk shares plunged 23.63% in early trading after the software maker lowered its annual sales forecast.
Elsewhere, pharmaceuticals were likely to be in focus, after Eli Lilly & Co. said its experimental Alzheimer’s treatment slowed the decline of cognition in some patients, sending shares up 8.02% pre-market. The company added however that it failed to meet the primary goals of two large studies.
Separately, Bristol-Myers Squibb saw shares rise 0.47% in early trading, even as it announced that it has abandoned an experimental hepatitis C pill it bought for USD2.5 billion earlier this year after one patient died and others were hospitalized while taking the drug in a study.
In the financial sector, HSBC Holdings came under heavy media scrutiny earlier, as the U.K. lender, currently under investigation by U.S. regulators for laundering funds of sanctioned nations including Iran and Sudan, was said to be in talks to settle the matter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.87%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.86%, Germany's DAX retreated 0.75%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slumped 0.44%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 1.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.17%.
Also Friday, Spanish government officials denied earlier rumors that they were in talks with the European Union over a potential aid package.
Ahead of the open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a 0.16% loss, S&P 500 futures signaled a 0.28% decline, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a 0.20% fall.
Official data showed that U.S. durable goods orders rose by 4.2% after a 1.6% rise in June, beating expectations for a 2.4% increase.
Core durable goods orders, which exclude transportation items, fell unexpectedly in July, ticking down 0.4% after a 2.2% decline the previous month. Analysts had expected core durable goods orders to rise 0.5% in July.
The data came as reports on Thursday painted a mixed picture of the U.S. economic recovery, prompting investors to temper expectations for fresh easing measures by the U.S. central bank.
Meanwhile, investors remained cautious as German Chancelor Angela Merkel was meeting with Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras in Berlin.
Following talks with French President Francois Hollande late Thursday, Merkel said that both leaders will maintain pressure on Greece to overhaul its economy, adding that she remained deeply convinced the Greek government is doing everything to solve the country's financial problems.
Apple was expected to be in the spotlight once again, amid reports the tech giant was counting on the popularity of its devices and political pressure to thwart efforts by Google's Motorola Mobility to block imports of the iPhone and iPad.
According to Bloomberg, the U.S. International Trade Commission was scheduled to announce later Friday whether iPhones and other Apple devices infringe Motorola Mobility patents and, if so, whether it will stop them from being imported into the U.S. from Asia. Apple shares were down 0.32% in pre-market trade.
Also slated to move lower, Autodesk shares plunged 23.63% in early trading after the software maker lowered its annual sales forecast.
Elsewhere, pharmaceuticals were likely to be in focus, after Eli Lilly & Co. said its experimental Alzheimer’s treatment slowed the decline of cognition in some patients, sending shares up 8.02% pre-market. The company added however that it failed to meet the primary goals of two large studies.
Separately, Bristol-Myers Squibb saw shares rise 0.47% in early trading, even as it announced that it has abandoned an experimental hepatitis C pill it bought for USD2.5 billion earlier this year after one patient died and others were hospitalized while taking the drug in a study.
In the financial sector, HSBC Holdings came under heavy media scrutiny earlier, as the U.K. lender, currently under investigation by U.S. regulators for laundering funds of sanctioned nations including Iran and Sudan, was said to be in talks to settle the matter.
Across the Atlantic, European stock markets were lower. The EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.87%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.86%, Germany's DAX retreated 0.75%, while Britain's FTSE 100 slumped 0.44%.
During the Asian trading session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged 1.25%, while Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 1.17%.
Also Friday, Spanish government officials denied earlier rumors that they were in talks with the European Union over a potential aid package.