BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The reaction to the quarterly earnings shall be the influencing investor sentiments on Friday.
The Coronavirus concerns and the possibility of a delayed November election in the U.S. also might be affecting the markets.
Initial cues from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open moderately higher.
Personal income and spending, consumer sentiment, and Chicago-area business activity are the major highlights on Friday.
Electronic Arts (EA), Expedia (EXPE), Ford (F), Gilead Sciences (GILD) Shake Shack (SHAK), and U.S. Steel (X) are among the companies reporting their quarterly results after the close of today's trading. As of 8.15 am ET, the Dow futures were adding 42.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were progressing 8.00 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were up 123.00 points.
The U.S. major averages finished Thursday mixed. While the Nasdaq rose 44.87 points or 0.4 percent to 10,587.81, the Dow slid 225.92 points or 0.9 percent to 26,313.65 and the S&P 500 fell 12.22 points or 0.4 percent to 3,246.22.
On the economic front, the Commerce Department's Personal Income and Outlays for June will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is a decline of 1.0 percent, while the decline was 4.2 percent in the prior month. Consumer spending is expected to up 5.6 percent, while it was up 8.2 percent in the prior month.
The Labor Department's Employment Cost Index for the second quarter will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a growth of 0.6 percent, while it was up 0.8 percent in the previous quarter.
The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment for July will be issued at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for 73.2.
Market News International Chicago PMI for July will be revealed at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 42.8, compared to growth of 36.6 in the previous month.
The Baker-Hughes Rig Count for the week will be revealed at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North American Rig Count was 293, while U.S. Rig Count was 251.
The Farm Prices for June will be published at 3.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the Farm prices were up 3.9 percent.
In the corporate sector, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported a second-quarter net loss attributable to the company of $1.08 billion or $0.26 per share compared to net profit of $3.13 billion or $0.73 per share in the previous year. Loss, excluding identified items per share, was $0.70.
Total revenues and other income for the quarter declined to $32.61 billion from $69.09 billion in the prior year.
Asian stocks ended mostly lower on Friday. Shanghai Composite index gained 23.18 points, or 0.71 percent, to finish at 3,310.01, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended down 0.47 percent at 24,595.35.
The manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in July and the PMI score was at 51.1, up from 50.9. The non-manufacturing PMI came in with a score of 54.2.
Japanese shares were down as the country recorded a one-day high of 463 coronavirus cases. The Nikkei average slumped 629.23 points, or 2.82 percent, to 21,710, while the broader Topix index closed 2.82 percent lower at 1,496.06.
In economic news, industrial output in Japan was up a seasonally adjusted 2.7 percent sequentially in June.
Australian markets tumbled. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 123.30 points, or 2.04 percent, to 5,927.80, while the broader All Ordinaries index ended down 119.20 points, or 1.93 percent, at 6,058.30.
European shares are trading mostly higher. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is gaining 12.69 points or 0.26 percent. The German DAX is adding 93.68 points or 0.76 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is declining 10.39 points or 0.17 percent.
The Swiss Market Index is progressing 52.77 points or 0.52 percent.
The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.56 percent.
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