By Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch

April the 'cruelest month' for tech stocks; data deluge for Friday

Amazon.com was soaring in premarket trading on Friday on the heels of blockbuster results, but the broader markets were heading for a flat start at best after the worst day in two months for the Dow industrials.

Earnings announcements will slow to a crawl after a busy week, but data releases ramp up with consumer spending, inflation and consumer sentiment all on Friday's calendar.

Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 15 points to 17,747, while S&P 500 futures eased 2.9 points to 2,069.50. Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 10.25 points to 4,371.50.

That muted start follows a tumultuous day for Wall Street on Thursday, with the Dow industrials stumbling more than 200 points (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-faces-near-100-point-loss-as-boj-surprises-market-with-no-change-2016-04-28). The main drag on the index was another losing day for Apple Inc.(AAPL) -- whose earnings (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2016/04/26/apple-earnings-expected-to-show-first-iphone-sales-decline-live-blog/) earlier in the week disappointed investors -- after billionaire Carl Icahn said he dumped his entire stake in the iPhone maker over China worries (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/carl-icahn-dumps-apple-stake-amid-china-concerns-2016-04-28).

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/carl-icahn-dumps-apple-stake-amid-china-concerns-2016-04-28)"For tech shares, April has indeed been 'the cruellest month', and while the sector as a whole is still up since the February lows, it looks like any further market rally for U.S. shares may well have to contend without support from these high-growth names," said Chris Beauchamp, senior market analyst at IG, in a note to clients.

The Nasdaq Composite , which slid 1.2% on Thursday, is down 2% for the week and 1.3% for the month of April thus far.

Data on tap: A busy data day could make up for a relatively small list of corporate earnings. The employment cost index for the first quarter is due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Personal income, consumer spending and core inflation for March are due at the same time.

The Chicago purchasing managers survey for April is coming at 9:45 a.m., followed by consumer sentiment for April at 10 a.m.

Stocks to watch: There were a couple of bright spots for tech on Friday. After blowing out Wall Street expectations late Thursday, shares of Amazon(AMZN) jumped 12% in premarket trading. Read:A new day for Amazon (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-new-day-for-amazon-2016-04-28)

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/a-new-day-for-amazon-2016-04-28)LinkedIn Corp.(LNKD) shot up 8% in premarket after earnings and its outlook surpassed analysts expectations. Read:LinkedIn not quite dead yet (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/linkedin-not-quite-dead-yet-2016-04-28)

Baidu.com Inc. (BIDU) rose 4% in premarket after profit fell, but revenue soared for the Chinese Internet group (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/baidu-profit-drops-189-but-revenue-jumps-2016-04-29).

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/baidu-profit-drops-189-but-revenue-jumps-2016-04-29)Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) will report ahead of the open, along with Chevron Corp.(CVX). Here's (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-to-expect-from-exxons-earnings-2016-04-27) what to expect from Exxon.

Tivo Inc.(TIVO) could be active after Rovi Corp.(ROVI) announced a cash-and-stock deal for the maker of the TiVo branded digital video recorder worth $1.1 billion.

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/baidu-profit-drops-189-but-revenue-jumps-2016-04-29)Caterpillar Inc.(CAT) said Thursday it will close five U.S. plants and shed about 820 positions (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/caterpillar-to-shut-5-us-plants-cut-more-than-800-jobs-2016-04-28) (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/caterpillar-to-shut-5-us-plants-cut-more-than-800-jobs-2016-04-28)as part of a strategy outlined in September.

Gold soars: Disappointing data and mayhem after the Bank of Japan left its policy unchanged and routed the dollar also stressed out investors on Thursday. The dollar continued to weaken against the yen on Friday (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yen-rips-higher-against-dollar-after-boj-shocks-market-with-no-action-2016-04-28), struggling to hang onto the Yen107 level even with Tokyo markets closed for a holiday.

Pressure on the dollar continued to drive up precious metals, with gold up $15.40, or 1.2%, to $1,281.90 an ounce after closing at a seven-week high (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-silver-gain-as-boj-fed-inaction-sinks-dollar-2016-04-28). Silver rose 31 cents, or 1.8%, to $17.90 an ounce, on the heels of its best finish since May.

Read: Why gold's upward march has everything in its favor (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-has-everything-in-its-favor-2016-04-22)

Oil prices remained firmer (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-fall-as-some-investors-cash-out-on-aprils-big-gains-2016-04-29), with U.S. crude poised to close at a fresh 2016 high on Friday, up 44cents, or 1%, to $46.47 a barrel.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-slide-as-gdp-data-earnings-stream-in-2016-04-29) fell more than 1% amid the region's own data deluge, while the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-keep-sliding-in-wake-of-japans-inaction-2016-04-28) slid 1.5%.

(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/carl-icahn-dumps-apple-stake-amid-china-concerns-2016-04-28)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 29, 2016 07:20 ET (11:20 GMT)

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