Retailers in spotlight as consumers hit the stores on Black Friday
By Polya Lesova, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures dropped on Friday on concerns about the euro-zone debt crisis, as millions of Americans hit shopping malls across the nation to take advantage of deals offered by retailers on the traditional starting day of the holiday-shopping season.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJ1Z -0.74% fell 77 points to 11,157 and those on the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index SP1Z -0.91% declined 9.10 points to 1,150.8.
Nasdaq 100 futures ND1Z -0.67% fell 17 points to 2,144.
In Europe, the Italian government sold 8 billion euros ($10.7 billion) of six-month bills, but saw the yield soar to a euro-era high, according to media reports. The news only served to reinforce concerns that the spread of the debt crisis may make it very difficult for Italy to meet its funding needs.
European stock markets dropped, with the Stoxx Europe 600 index XX:SXXP -0.62% down 0.7% in mid-morning trading. Asian equity markets finished mostly lower, pressured by worries about Europe.
The euro EURUSD -0.78% dropped 0.5% against the dollar to $1.3253. The dollar index DXY +0.51% , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of other major currencies, rose 0.5% to 79.494.
In the U.S., retail stocks such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT -0.37% , Macy’s Inc. M +0.61% and J.C. Penney Co. JCP +0.66% will be in the spotlight on so-called Black Friday, the traditional start of the holiday-shopping season.
The U.S. trading session will be shorter than usual on Friday, with trading on the New York Stock Exchange set to close at 1 p.m. Eastern time.
“The U.S. market is technically open for half a day but trading volumes will likely remain low as the festivities continue,” Deutsche Bank analysts wrote in a note. “Today, Black Friday, has traditionally been an important day for U.S. retailers given it officially kicks off the holiday shopping season so expect to see more retail-related headlines today and over the weekend.”
U.S. markets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. The blue-chip Dow index DJIA -2.05% sank nearly 240 points, or 2.1%, on Wednesday, ending lower for a third consecutive day.
No major U.S. economic data are set for release on Friday.
On the corporate front, shares of AT&T Inc. T +0.18% may be active after the company said on Thursday it will book a $4 billion pretax accounting charge in the fourth quarter to cover the potential break-up fees due Deutsche Telekom AG DE:DTE +0.24% if the sale of T-Mobile USA to the U.S. telecom firm does not receive regulatory approval.
