After turning lower over the course of the previous session, stocks could see some further downside in early trading on Friday. The major index futures are currently pointing to a notably lower open for the markets, with the Dow futures down by 65 points.
The downward momentum for the markets comes on the heels of the release of a report from the Commerce Department showing somewhat weaker than expected U.S. economic growth in the final three months of last year.
The report showed that GDP increased at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the 1.8 percent growth seen in the third quarter. While GDP growth showed a notable acceleration compared to the previous quarter, economists had been expecting an increase of about 3.1 percent.
The Commerce Department said that the acceleration in the pace of GDP growth primarily reflected an upturn in private inventory investment as well as faster consumer spending growth.
On the other hand, the pace of growth was limited by a downturn in federal government spending and an increase in imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP.
Not long after the open, trading could also be impacted by the release of Reuters and the University of Michigan's revised report on consumer sentiment in the month of January. The consumer sentiment index is expected to be unrevised from the mid-month reading of 74.0.
Auto giant Ford (F) may come under pressure in early trading after reporting weaker than expected fourth quarter earnings due to weakness overseas.
Procter & Gamble (PG) could also see early weakness after the consumer products giant reported a sharp drop in fourth quarter earnings and lowered its full-year earnings guidance.
Meanwhile, Honeywell (HON) reported fourth quarter earnings that came in just above analyst estimates on revenues that came in slightly below expectations.
With disappointing housing data offsetting early buying interest, stocks turned lower over the course of the trading day on Thursday. Profit taking following recent strength also contributed to the downturn by the markets.
The major averages climbed off their worst levels of the day going into the close but still ended the session in the red. The Dow edged down 22.33 points or 0.2 percent to 12,734.63, the Nasdaq fell 13.03 points or 0.5 percent to 2,805.28 and the S&P 500 slid 7.60 points or 0.6 percent to 1,318.45.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region closed mostly higher on Friday, although Japan's Nikkei 225 Index bucked the uptrend and edged down by 0.1 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose by 0.3 percent, while Australia's All Ordinaries Index closed up by 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index has inched down by 0.1 percent, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index has dipped by 0.6 percent, and the French CAC 40 Index has fallen by 1.1 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are inching up $0.01 to $99.71 a barrel after advancing $0.30 to $99.70 a barrel on Thursday. Gold futures are slipping $3.70 to $1,726.20 an ounce. In the previous session, the precious metal rose $26.60 to $1,726.70 an ounce.
Among currencies, the U.S. dollar is trading at 76.87 yen compared to the 77.45 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.3103 compared to yesterday's $1.3109.
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Market Analysis
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.