U.S. stock futures on Friday pointed to a quiet end to the first full week of earnings season, amid further signs the U.S. economy is slowing down.
What’s happening
- Dow Jones Industrial Average futures YM00, -0.04% rose 2 points to 33912.
- S&P 500 futures ES00, -0.05% rose 2 points to 4154.
- Nasdaq 100 futures NQ00, -0.07% rose 12 points, or 0.1%, to 13086.
On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, -0.33% fell 110 points, or 0.33%, to 33787, the S&P 500 SPX, -0.60% declined 25 points, or 0.6%, to 4130, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -0.80% dropped 98 points, or 0.8%, to 12060.
What’s driving markets
Recent economic data has been pointing to a deteriorating economy. The Conference Board’s leading economic index, released Thursday, fell to its lowest level since Nov. 2020, as the number of people collecting unemployment benefits reached the highest level since Nov. 2021.
A number of companies including AT&T T, -10.41%, American Express AXP, -1.01% and Tesla TSLA, -9.75% saw their share prices drop after their latest quarterly results. See: AT&T stock suffers worst drop in more than 2 decades as cash flow dries up
Mark Haefele, chief investment officer for global wealth management at UBS, said the markets are pricing in a high probability of a near-perfect landing for the U.S. economy.
“We doubt everything will work out so perfectly, and instead see an uncertain outlook for the growth, earnings, and inflation picture,” he said. UBS prefers emerging markets over U.S. equities and prefers higher-quality segments of fixed income including government bonds, investment-grade credit and senior debt from financials.
Friday’s economic calendar includes the preliminary Markit manufacturing and services reports, while Procter & Gamble PG, +0.37% highlights the earnings calendar.