By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stock futures held close to the
flatline Friday, in muted moves compared with the previous
session's sell-off in reaction to a deadly Malaysia Airlines jet
crash in Ukraine.
The end of the week will bring gauges of consumer sentiment and
economic activity, as well as quarterly results from General
Electric Co., a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) fell 16
points, or 0.1%, to 16,925, while those for the S&P 500 index
(SPU4) rose 1 point to 1,954. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index
(NDU4) rose 5 points to 3,881.
Equities on Thursday were rattled by news that 298 passengers
were killed in an Malaysia Airlines crash in eastern Ukraine, where
fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian troops has
been going on for months. The UN Security Council was set to hold
an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss the Ukrainian-Russian
crisis in the wake of the plane crash.
The S&P 500 (SPX) on Thursday saw its biggest one-day fall
since April 10, dropping 23 points, or 1.2%, and the Dow
industrials (DJI) slide 161 points, or 0.9%, the biggest drop since
May 15.
After trading closed Thursday, U.S. intelligence officials
reportedly said the jet was shot down by a surface-to-air missile.
Ukraine and some Western officials have blamed pro-Russia
separatists for the attack, while Russia's President Vladmir Putin
says the fault lies with Ukraine's government. Read: Tensions grow
as Putin, Western officials trade blame over jet crash
"Investors are heading for safe havens this morning as they
assess the geopolitical ramifications of the downing of a Malaysia
Airlines plane," said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at
stockbroker Interactive Investor, in a Friday note. "The renewed
focus on the Ukraine on top of the military escalation in Gaza will
fuel uncertainty and increase volatility in the days and weeks
ahead."
Israel on Thursday night launched an open-ended ground invasion
of Gaza aimed at crushing Hamas militants after 10 days of aerial
bombardment.
Overnight in Asia, Japan's Nikkei Average fell 1% as investors
sought the perceived safety of the Japanese yen. But the U.S.
dollar eventually pared its losses against the yen. European stocks
slid on the geopolitical tensions, and Russia's MICEX dropped
nearly 2%.
Investors will also get a look at developments in the U.S.
economy on Friday. A gauge of consumer sentiment could show an
improved outlook, aided by strengthening in the labor market. The
gauge from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters is likely
to rise to 83, from a final June level of 82.5. It's set for
release at 9:55 a.m. Eastern Time.
Then at 10 a.m. Eastern, the Conference Board will release its
June leading-economic index report. Economists polled by Dow Jones
Newswires expect a gain, which would signal the economy will
continue to expand. The LEI in May rose 0.5%.
Ahead of the opening bell, General Electric (GE) is expected to
report earnings of 39 cents a share, up from 36 cents a share a
year earlier, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet.
V.F. Corp. (VFC), maker of North Face and Wrangler branded
clothing, is likely to report per-share earnings of 35 cents for
its second quarter.
In premarket trade, shares of AMD (AMD) tumbled 17% after the
chip maker said its second-quarter adjusted earnings were 2 cents a
share, below the 3 cents a share projected by analysts in a FactSet
survey.
Google (GOOG) shares were up 1.2% premarket, after the Internet
company late Thursday posted second-quarter revenue that beat Wall
Street's expectations.
IBM (IBM) reported late Thursday second-quarter results that
topped expectations.
In the commodities market, gold futures (GCQ4) fell $7.20 to
$1,309.90 an ounce. August crude futures (CLQ4) rose 30 cents to
$103.49 a barrel.
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