Stock futures off after Chinese trade data, scrapped IPO
Disappointing trade data from China and the scrapping of a large IPO fed into fears about market volatility and the economy on Friday, sending futures lower a day after stocks bounced from a six-day losing streak.
China's export growth slowed in May, raising questions over the outlook for global growth at a time when investors have been rattled by a barrage of reports showing the U.S. economy is slowing down.
It indicates there is some slowing in world demand for Chinese products and that feeds right into the fears that our economy is slowing, said Jack de Gan, chief investment officer at Harbor Advisory Corp in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Ally Financial
In another negative for U.S. stocks, the euro fell as worries about the Greek debt crisis eclipsed any support from a likely euro zone interest rate rise next month. Traders have been trading the correlation between stocks and the dollar recently.
S&P 500 futures dipped 2.8 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 fell 33 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were off 4.25 points.
U.S. shares ended higher on Thursday for the first time in over a week, though equities closed off session highs as the mood among investors remained fragile following a 6 percent drop in the S&P 500 from its highs in May.
Overseas markets were lackluster. European shares on the FTSEurofirst 300 <.FTEU3> dipped 0.3 percent in early trade and were on track for a sixth straight week of losses. Japan's Nikkei <.NK225> ended up 0.5 percent.
Crude oil futures fell, paring earlier gains after Brent rose to a five-week high of $120 a barrel as Saudi Arabia began offering more oil to Asian refiners, easing worries about supplies following an inconclusive OPEC meeting.
U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc
won European regulatory clearance to acquire Danish medical services company Ferrosan's consumer healthcare business from Altor 2003 Fund Ltd. Pfizer edged lower by 0.2 percent to $20.70 in premarket trade.
(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)
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