Stocks- U.S. Futures Point to Weak Opening Bell
Published Apr 20, 2018 06:50AM ET
U.S. Futures pointed to a lower opening bell on Wall Street.
Investing.com – U.S. futures were mostly lower on Friday as bond yields in the U.S. rose.
The S&P 500 futures was flat at 2,693.0 as of 6:49 AM ET (10:49 GMT) while Dow futures decreased 20 points or 0.08% to 24,617.0. Meanwhile tech heavy Nasdaq 100 futures fell 11 points or 0.17% to 6,768.25.
U.S. bond yields crept back up on Friday, with the United States 2-Year note climbing to its highest level since September 2008, at 2.437. The yield on the United States 10-Year Treasury note rose to 2.921.
Prices fall as bond yields rise. A spike in U.S. Treasury bond yields in February led to a steep decline in equity markets as investors grew concencered that rising inflation could lead to an increase in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
With bond yields up, investors will turn their attention to comments from Federal Reserve members for clues on monetary policy. Chicago Fed president Charles Evans was scheduled to speak on the economic outlook and monetary policy at 9:40AM ET (13:40GMT) Friday, while San Francisco Fed chief John Williams will make an appearance at 11:15AM ET (15:15GMT).
Earnings season continues on Friday, with the main focus on General Electric (NYSE:GE). Other firms reporting before the morning bell include Honeywell International Inc (NYSE:HON)l and Schlumberger NV (NYSE:SLB). Of the 74 S&P firms that have reported earnings through Thursday, 80% have beat on both the top and bottom line.
Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) was among the top gainers in pre-market trading, rising 2.69% after its stock was upgraded while Nokia (HE:NOKIA) Corp ADR (NYSE:NOK) increased 3.95% and Vodafone Group PLC (LON:VOD) ADR (NASDAQ:VOD) jumped 1.39%.
Elsewhere Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) was down 1.36% while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) dipped 0.56% and footwear firm Skechers USA Inc (NYSE:SKX) slumped 23.02% after the company issued lower second-quarter guidance.
In Europe stocks were up. Germany’s DAX rose five points or 0.04% while in France the CAC 40 increased 26 points or 0.48% and in London, the FTSE 100 was up 34 points or 0.48%. Meanwhile the pan-European Euro Stoxx 50 was up 14 points or 0.41% while Spain’s IBEX 35 inched up 29 points or 0.29%.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.39% to $1,343.50 a troy ounce while crude oil futures increased 0.38% to $68.55 a barrel. The U.S. dollar index which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.29% to 89.90.
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Written By: Investing.com
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