By Joseph Adinolfi and Barbara Kollmeyer, MarketWatch
Stocks set to weaken as earnings tone sours
U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open Friday after the Dow
posted its worst performance in two months in the previous
session.
Strong gains by Amazon.com (AMZN) in pre-market action on the
heels of a blockbuster earnings report failed to boost the broader
market amid a sour overall tone to earnings.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 20 points, or 0.1%, to
17,741, while S&P 500 futures eased 4 points, or 0.2%, to
2,070. Nasdaq-100 futures slipped 16 points, or 0.4%, to 4,365.
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).
"For tech shares, April has indeed been 'the cruelest 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: Personal income and outlays data showed consumer spending
rose a meager 0.1% in March, missing Wall Street expectations.
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-spending-rises-scant-01-in-march-2016-04-29)Stock
futures remained lower after the data, which was released at 8:30
a.m. Eastern Time.
The PCE price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of
inflation, showed that price pressures seen earlier in the year
have abated somewhat, with the index rising just 0.8% in the 12
months ending in March.
More data lies ahead. 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)
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).
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) shares rose premarket after its revenue
beat market expectations.
Chevron Corp.(CVX) shares slumped after a lackluster earnings
report.
Tivo Inc.(TIVO) shares jumped after Rovi Corp.(ROVI) announced a
cash-and-stock deal for the maker of the TiVo branded digital video
recorder worth $1.1 billion.
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)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 $12.50, or 1.2%, to $1,278.60 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 22 cents, or 1.3%, to $17.77 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
33 cents, or 0.7%, to $46.35 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 1.1% 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%.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 29, 2016 08:54 ET (12:54 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.