Futures down on weak commodities, on quarterly results
U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday, as a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on commodities and natural resource stocks and weak results from computer maker Dell and homebuilder D.R. Horton underscored the rocky road to an economic recovery.
Dell Inc
December crude futures sank 1.3 percent, extending a fall in the previous session as the U.S. dollar rose against a basket of currencies. The dollar index was up 0.7 percent.
Everyone is looking at the dollar right now, said Kim Caughey, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
Low interest rates are supposed to make investors want to take risks, but that's not happening. People remain very nervous about the economy and especially about the consumer.
Investors are watching the technology sector, which is often viewed as one of the first to recovery from a recession.
Dell's sales increase concerns about the consumer, Caughey said. People are looking to see where consumers are spending, and they're not spending on Dell. That's weighing on the market.
D.R. Horton Inc
S&P 500 futures fell 8.2 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures dropped 80 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures slid 10.25 points.
JM Smucker Co
General Electric Co
Some big Goldman Sachs Inc
U.S. stocks fell Thursday, as another batch of economic data pointed to the fragility of the recovery. Tech stocks were hard hit after a bearish brokerage view on the semiconductor sector.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
© Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. All rights reserved.