| | The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to add to the modest losses in the previous session.
Uncertainty about trade between the U.S. and China may weigh on the markets ahead of a highly anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Trump and Xi are due to hold a dinner meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Ahead of the meeting, Trump has offered mixed remarks about the likelihood the U.S. and China will reach an agreement to end the escalating trade dispute between the world?s two largest economies.
?I think we?re very close to doing something with China, but I don?t know that I want to do it because what we have right now is billions and billions of dollars coming into the United States in the form of tariffs or taxes. So I really don?t know,? Trump said Thursday before departing for the summit.
?But I will tell you that I think China wants to make a deal. I?m open to making a deal,? he added. ?But, frankly, I like the deal we have right now.?
After coming under pressure early in the session, stocks rebounded over the course of the trading day on Thursday but pulled back going into the close. The major averages eventually ended the day modestly lower, partly offsetting the substantial gains posted in the previous session.
The Dow moved in a nearly 300-point range before edging down 27.59 points or 0.1 percent to 25,338.84. The Nasdaq slipped 18.51 points or 0.3 percent to 7,273.08 and the S&P 500 dipped 5.99 points or 0.2 percent to 2,737.80.
The modestly lower close on Wall Street came after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting held earlier this month seemed to reinforce expectations for another quarter-point increase in interest rates next month.
The minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting said almost all participants agreed another increase in rates was "likely to be warranted fairly soon."
The Fed noted a near-term rate hike would be dependent on incoming information on the labor market and inflation coming in line with or stronger than current expectations.
CME Group's FedWatch tool currently indicates an 82.7 percent chance the Fed will raise rates to a range of 2.25 to 2.50 percent at the two-day meeting scheduled for December 18th and 19th.
However, the minutes noted a few participants continued to favor gradual increases in rates but expressed uncertainty about the timing of such increases.
A couple of participants also noted rates might currently be near a neutral level and warned further increases could unduly slow economic growth and put downward pressure on inflation and inflation expectations.
In remarks to the Economic Club of New York on Wednesday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell described the current level of interest rates as "just below" neutral.
"Interest rates are still low by historical standards, and they remain just below the broad range of estimates of the level that would be neutral for the economy--that is, neither speeding up nor slowing down growth," Powell said.
The latest remarks seemed to conflict with comments Powell made early last month, when he described rates as a "long way from neutral."
The early weakness on Wall Street came following the release of some disappointing economic data, including a report from the National Association of Realtors unexpectedly showing a substantial decrease in pending home sales in the month of October.
NAR said its pending home sales index plunged by 2.6 percent to 102.1 in October after climbing by 0.7 percent to an upwardly revised 104.8 in September. With the steep drop, the index fell to its lowest level since mid-2014.
The sharp pullback surprised economists, who had expected pending home sales to rise by 0.5 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.
A pending home sale is one in which a contract was signed but not yet closed. Normally, it takes four to six weeks to close a contracted sale.
The Labor Department also released a report showing initial jobless claims unexpectedly rose to a six-month high in the week ended November 24th.
The report said initial jobless claims climbed to 234,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 224,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to edge down to 220,000.
With another unexpected increase, jobless claims reached their highest level since hitting a matching figure in the week ended May 19th.
Meanwhile, a separate report from the Commerce Department showed personal income and spending both increased by more than anticipated in the month of October.
The Commerce Department said personal income climbed by 0.5 percent in October after edging up by 0.2 percent in September. Economists had expected income to rise by 0.4 percent.
Additionally, the report said personal spending advanced by 0.6 percent in October after rising by 0.2 percent in the previous month. Spending had also been expected to increase by 0.4 percent.
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, contributing to the lack of direction shown by the broader markets over the course of the session.
Computer hardware stocks saw considerable weakness, however, with the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index plunging by 2.4 percent.
Significant weakness was also visible among brokerage stocks, as reflected by the 1.5 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index.
Gold stocks also moved notably lower despite a modest increase by the price of the precious metal, while some strength emerged among chemical stocks.
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At 9 am ET, New York Federal Reserve President John Williams is due to participate in a panel on ?The Global Economy: Addressing a Future Downturn? at the 80th Plenary Meeting of the Group of Thirty in New York.
MNI Indicators is scheduled to release its report on Chicago-area business activity in the month of November at 9:45 am ET.
The Chicago business barometer is expected to dip to 58.0 in November from 58.4 in October, although a reading above 50 would still indicate growth.
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Shares of LabCorp (LH) are moving significantly lower in pre-market trading after the life sciences company lowered its full-year guidance due to weaker than expected volume growth in LabCorp Diagnostics.
Hotel operator Marriott (MAR) may also come under pressure after revealing there was unauthorized access to the Starwood guest reservation database containing information on up to approximately 500 million guests.
Shares of Goldman Sachs (GS) may also move to the downside after Bank of America downgraded its rating on the investment bank to Neutral from Buy.
On the other hand, shares of HP Inc. (HPQ) may see initial strength after the computer and printer maker reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that matched analyst estimates on better than expected revenues.
Human resources software company Workday (WDAY) is moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after reporting fiscal third quarter results that exceeded analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
Shares of VMWare (VMW) are also seeing notable pre-market strength after the cloud computing company reported fiscal third quarter earnings that beat estimates and raised its full-year guidance. | | | | | Become a Shareholder in High Times The Original Voice of Cannabis. Join our investor community and help shape the emerging cannabis industry.
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European stocks have moved lower on Friday, as China reported its weakest factory growth in more than two years and investors looked ahead to a crucial Trump-Xi meeting this weekend for any hints that the trade dispute could be resolved.
While the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is down by 0.3 percent and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.5 percent.
Miners have led the declines after a gauge of Chinese manufacturing activity fell for the fourth straight month in November, adding to signs of slowing growth in the world's second-largest economy.
Energy stocks have also moved lower ahead of next week's OPEC meeting, while automakers have fallen on fears of possible new tariffs.
On the other hand, telecom and cable group Altice Europe N.V. has soared after it agreed to sell a stake in its French fiber optic business.
In economic news, German retail sales grew 5 percent year-on-year in October following a revised 2.8 percent slump in September, preliminary data from the Federal Statistical Office revealed. Economists had expected a gain of 1.4 percent.
The French consumer price index rose 1.9 percent year-on-year in November following a 2.2 percent increase in October, official data showed. Economists had expected 2 percent inflation.
U.K. house price inflation rose 1.9 percent year-on-year in November following a 1.6 percent increase in October, data from the Nationwide Building Society showed. In August and September, price growth was 2 percent.
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Asian stocks turned in a mixed performance on Friday as minutes from the most recent Fed meeting added weight to expectations for a rate hike in December and caution set in ahead of the highly anticipated meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend.
Chinese shares rose despite some disappointing data suggesting that China's manufacturing activity continued to worsen in November.
The manufacturing PMI stood at 50.0 in November, missing expectations for a score of 50.2, which would have been unchanged from the October reading.
The non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 53.4, also shy of expectations for 53.8 and down from 53.9 in the previous month. The composite index posted a score of 52.8, down from 53.1 a month earlier.
China's Shanghai Composite Index gained 20.74 points or 0.8 percent to finish at 2,588.19 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 55.72 points or 0.2 percent to 26,506.75.
Japanese shares hit a three-week high in cautious trading as investors awaited the outcome of the weekend meeting between the U.S. and Chinese presidents.
The Nikkei 225 Index climbed 88.46 points or 0.4 percent to 22,351.06, the highest closing level since November 8th. The broader Topix index closed 0.5 percent higher at 1,667.45.
Petroleum stocks led the surge after U.S. crude oil prices rose more than 2 percent overnight. Inpex Corp. rallied 3 percent and Japan Petroleum advanced 2.3 percent. Drugmakers saw defensive buying, with Otsuka Holdings surging up 4.5 percent.
Murata Manufacturing, a manufacturer of electronic components, gained 2.5 percent after announcing its mid-term business plan.
On the data front, Japanese industrial output rose a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent in October, a preliminary reading showed. That exceeded forecasts for an increase of 1.1 percent following the 0.4 percent decline in September.
Overall consumer prices in the Tokyo region were up just 0.8 percent year-over-year in November, falling below expectations for 1.1 percent and down sharply from 1.5 percent in October.
The unemployment rate came in at a seasonally adjusted 2.4 percent in October compared to expectations for 2.3 percent, which would have been unchanged from the September reading.
Meanwhile, Australian stocks tumbled as financials succumbed to heavy selling pressure. The S&P/ASX 200 Index plunged 91.20 points or 1.6 percent to 5,667.20, while the broader All Ordinaries Index ended down 86.40 points or 1.5 percent at 5,749.30.
The big four banks fell between 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent as the banking royal commission reached its final round of hearings. Energy majors Santos and Origin Energy shed around 2 percent despite Russia indicating a production cut.
Beverage maker Coca-Cola Amatil slumped 14.5 percent after the company said its SPC fruit and tomato business would likely record a full-year loss of about A$10 million.
In economic news, private sector credit in Australia rose 0.4 percent in October, the Reserve Bank of Australia said, unchanged and in line with expectations.
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Crude oil futures are sliding $0.73 to $50.72 a barrel after jumping $1.16 to $51.45 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after inching up $0.60 to $1,230.40 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are falling $4 to $1,226.40 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 113.52 yen compared to the 113.48 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1366 compared to yesterday?s $1.1393.
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