Stocks Ease Ahead of Key Inflation Data
U.S. equity futures fell on Friday as investors anticipated upcoming inflation data to grasp the state of the economy.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials were down 145 points, or 0.3%, to 45,561.
Futures for the S&P 500 sank 22.75 points to 6,494.75
Futures for the NASDAQ tumbled 131.25 points, or 0.6%, to 23,637.75.
With all three major indexes at or near record highs, the gains for the month have been solid. The 30-stock Dow is up 0.01% week to date, but it has logged a 3.4% advance in August. The S&P 500 has tallied a 0.5% increase week to date, and is up 2.6% so far this month. The tech-heavy NASDAQ added about 1% this week, which has helped boost August’s gain to 2.8%.
Investors are turning their attention to fresh inflation data to cap off the final trading day of August with the personal consumption expenditures index. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect that the PCE reading for July will show an increase of 0.2% for the month and 2.6% for the year.
Nvidia shares extended their recent losses, falling about 1% in the premarket, after the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese e-ecommerce giant Alibaba has created a more advanced chip as it looks to fill the gap left by Nvidia running into issues around selling its chips in China.
U.S. shares of Alibaba were up more than 2%.
While President Donald Trump struck a deal with Nvidia earlier this month allowing the company to restart selling its H20 chips in that country, the Chinese government has told local tech companies to halt purchases of the chips, citing alleged security concerns.
Caterpillar shares also lost nearly 3% in premarket trading after the company warned it could tat a $1.5 billion-$1.8 billion hit this year due to tariffs. Shares of Dell Technologies slipped 5% following a soft outlook for the current quarter.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 fell 0.3% Friday, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.3%.
Oil prices fell back 23 cents to $64.37 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices lost $8.40 at $3,465.90 U.S. per ounce.
