Wall Street to slip on Spanish, Chinese data

Stocks were set to fall at the open on Friday as concerns over Spain's rising borrowing costs resurfaced and after disappointing Chinese growth data.

Spain's benchmark government bond yield jumped above 5.9 percent after data showed Spanish banks borrowed heavily from the European Central Bank in March, reviving concerns over the country's finances.

Further pressuring equities, China's economy grew at its slowest pace in nearly three years and no signs of fresh stimulus are seen.

The Chinese GDP number was weaker than expected and everyone had used it as an excuse to rally yesterday, said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak & Co in New York.

Bank shares are seen under pressure after premarket declines in JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, despite beating quarterly earnings expectations. The Select Sector Financial SPDR ETF fell 0.8 percent

JPMorgan is down after what seemed a better than expected quarter, we're seeing further weakness in Spain and Europe we should give some of (the recent gains) back, Boockvar said.

The S&P 500 added more than 2 percent in the two previous sessions as immediate concerns over rising yields in Spain and Italy ebbed and on bets the Chinese GDP data would surprise on the upside.

S&P 500 futures fell 7.6 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 70 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures lost 11.75 points.

S&P futures traded above their 50-day average throughout the session, after closing below that level twice earlier this week.

Basic materials and energy shares also could be pressured as copper and oil prices dipped after the Chinese data.

Consumer prices rose modestly in March, boosting the view the U.S. Federal Reserve has room to provide more support for the economy if needed.

On Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> jumped 181.19 points, or 1.41 percent, to end at 12,986.58. The S&P 500 Index <.SPX> gained 18.86 points, or 1.38 percent, to 1,387.57. The Nasdaq Composite <.IXIC> climbed 39.09 points, or 1.30 percent, to 3,055.55.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)