MW: U.S. stocks: Futures up ahead of GDP, sentiment figures
LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures edged up Friday, the moves coming ahead of a report on how well the world’s largest economy performed in the second quarter. Separate data on tap may show a pullback in consumer sentiment this month.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJZ4, +0.22% were up 31 points, or 0.2%, to 16,931, while those for the S&P 500 index SPZ4, +0.10% rose 2.50 points, or 0.1%, to 1,964.20. Nasdaq-100 index futures NDZ4, +0.04% were up 10.50 points, or 0.3%, to 4,018.75.
Data: The third and final reading on U.S. gross domestic product — due at 8:30 a.m. Eastern from the Commerce Department — is likely to be raised to 4.7% from a prior estimate of 4.2%. That upwardly revision could come as mainly fresh data show consumers spent more on health care than previously estimated.
Inventories are a key figure to watch in the report as a gain would suggest companies maintained a healthy level of production into the early fall.
At 9:55 a.m. Eastern, the final print of University of Michigan consumer confidence may dip from a preliminary reading of 84.6. Economists polled by MarketWatch forecast a 84.3 reading.
Apple Inc. shares AAPL, -3.81% will be in focus on Friday. They dropped nearly 4% on Thursday as the company tried to calm concerns about its new iPhone 6 Plus being susceptible to bending easily.
The drop in Apple’s shares contributed to all overall selloff on Wall Street on Thursday. Both the S&P 500 SPX, -1.62% and Dow DJIA, -1.54% suffered their biggest drops since July 31, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, -1.94% fell 1.9%. The benchmarks are each on track for weekly losses of at least 1.9%.
Stocks to watch: Finish Line FINL, -1.31% is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 60 cents a share on revenue of $478.1 million, according to FactSet analysts.
Nike NKE, -1.35% shares jumped more than 5% late Thursday after the athletic apparel and gear maker posted better-than-expected quarterly earnings.
Chiquita Brands International CQB, -0.21% and Fyffes PLC FQ3, -0.09% agreed to revised terms of a merger plan under which Chiquita would have a greater share of the combined company.
Chip maker Micron MU, -1.61% saw its shares drive higher late Thursday after fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street’s projections.
Other markets: Overnight, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 XJO, -1.28% erased its gains for the year, keying off Wall Street’s selloff and a slump in iron-ore prices. European stocks SXXP, +0.14% were modestly lower, with a downbeat view of German consumer confidence adding to negative sentiment.
Gold futures GCZ4, +0.16% edged up less than $2 an ounce while oil futures CLX4, +0.44% slipped.
