The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to see further downside following the modest pullback seen in the previous session.
Geopolitical concerns may weigh on Wall Street amid an escalating war of words between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.
In a statement circulated by state news agency KCNA, Kim described Trump's threat to "totally destroy" North Korea as "mentally deranged behavior."
Trump responded to Kim's statement with a post on Twitter on Friday, calling the North Korean dictator a "madman."
The back-and-forth between Trump and Kim comes as North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho said his country may consider testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean.
Following the mixed performance seen in the previous session, stocks saw modest weakness during trading on Thursday. With the drop on the day, the Dow and the S&P 500 pulled back off yesterday's record closing highs.
The major averages all ended the day in negative territory. The Dow dipped 53.36 points or 0.2 percent to 22,359.23, the Nasdaq slid 33.35 points or 0.5 percent to 6,422.69 and the S&P 500 fell 7.64 points or 0.3 percent to 2,500.60.
The modest weakness on Wall Street came as traders continued to digest the Federal Reserve's monetary policy announcement on Wednesday, when the Fed left interest rates unchanged but signaled another rate hike is likely this year.
The Fed's projections pointed to a quarter basis point rate increase later this year, with the rate hike widely expected to come at the December meeting.
The central bank also revealed that it will begin shrinking its $4.5 trillion balance sheet in October, initially allowing $10 billion in bonds to roll off each month.
In her subsequent press conference, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the process of winding down the balance sheet would be gradual and predictable.
On the U.S. economic front, the Labor Department released a report showing an unexpected decrease in initial jobless claims in the week ended September 16th.
The report said initial jobless claims fell to 259,000, a decrease of 23,000 from the previous week's revised level of 282,000.
The continued decrease surprised economists, who had expected jobless claims to climb to 300,000 from the 284,000 originally reported for the previous week.
A separate report released by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showed an unexpected improvement in regional manufacturing conditions in the month of September.
The Philly Fed said its index for current manufacturing activity rose to 23.8 in September from 18.9 in August, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to drop to 17.2.
The Conference Board also released a report showing a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading economic indicators.
Steel stocks showed a significant move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 1.9 percent. The index ended the session at its lowest closing level in nearly a month.
Olympic Steel (ZEUS), U.S. Steel (X) and Brazil's CSN (SID) turned in some of the steel sector's worst performances on the day.
Considerable weakness was also visible among oil service stocks, as reflected by the 1.4 loss posted by the Philadelphia Oil Service Index. The drop by the index came after it ended the previous session at a two-month closing high. The weakness among oil service stocks came amid a modest decrease by the price of crude oil.
Biotechnology and tobacco stocks also saw some weakness on the day, while most of the other major sectors showed more modest moves.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are falling $0.21 to $50.34 a barrel after slipping $0.14 to $50.55 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plunging $21.60 to $1,294.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are rising $1.90 to $1,296.70 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 112.08 yen compared to the 112.48 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1972 compared to yesterday's $1.1941.
Asia
Asian stocks fell broadly on Friday as rising geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and North Korea as well as a downgrade to China's credit rating sent investors scurrying towards safe haven assets such as gold, the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc.
Geopolitical worries intensified after North Korea's foreign minister Ri Yong Ho said the country could consider testing a hydrogen bomb in the Pacific Ocean in response to President Donald Trump's latest threat to destroy the rogue nation.
S&P Global Ratings also downgraded China's credit rating, citing higher economic and financial risks after a prolonged period of strong credit growth. The ratings agency also lowered its sovereign rating on Hong Kong, citing spillover risks.
Chinese stocks ended off their day's lows amid expectations that Beijing will maintain stability in markets ahead of next month's meeting of the Chinese Communist Party's National Congress.
The benchmark Shanghai Composite index slipped 4.94 points or 0.2 percent to 3,352.87, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 229.80 points or 0.8 percent to 27,880.53.
Japanese shares slipped from a two-year high as renewed concerns about North Korea helped lift demand for safe-haven assets, including the Japanese yen. The Nikkei 225 Index ended down 20,296.45 or 0.3 percent at 20,296.45 after reaching as high as 20,417.07 earlier in the day. The broader Topix index closed 0.25 percent lower at 1,664.61.
Steelmakers bore the brunt of the selling, with JFE Holdings falling as much as 4.7 percent and Kobe Steel ending down 3.3 percent.
Meanwhile, Australian shares rose notably to snap a three-day losing streak despite the weakness elsewhere across the Asia-Pacific region. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose by 26.70 points or 0.5 percent to 5,682.10, while the All Ordinaries Index ended 23.90 points or 0.4 percent higher at 5,740.60.
The big four banks closed up between 0.6 percent and 1.2 percent. Mining giant Rio Tinto advanced 0.7 percent after launching a share buyback.
On the other hand, regional broadcaster Prime Media Group fell as much as 11.6 percent after talks with Seven West Media over a potential merger failed.
Europe
European stocks are mostly higher on Friday as upbeat readings on private sector activity helped investors shrug off renewed geopolitical tensions.
Investors also looked ahead to U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit speech later in the day and the German federal election this weekend for further direction. It is widely expected that Chancellor Angela Merkel will win a fourth term.
The euro strengthened against its major rivals after data showed German private sector activity grew at the fastest pace in almost six-and-a-half years in September.
Eurozone business activity also picked up to its highest level since May, signaling robust growth momentum in the region.
Separately, flash data from IHS Markit revealed that France's private sector expanded the most since May 2011. The composite PMI unexpectedly rose to 57.2 in September.
French cosmetics giant L'Oreal has rallied amid speculation about the future of the company after billionaire heiress Liliane Bettencourt died at the age of 94.
Meanwhile, Swedish telecom company Telia has fallen after it agreed to pay a combined total penalty of more than $965 million to resolve charges arising out of a scheme to pay bribes in Uzbekistan.
British outsourcing firm Capita has also moved lower as staff represented by trade union Unite has voted in favor of industrial action.
Smiths Group shares have also come under pressure after the conglomerate reported a decrease in underlying full-year revenue.
U.S. Economic Reports
Amid a quiet day on the U.S. economic front, remarks by Federal Reserve officials may attract attention following the Fed's monetary policy announcement earlier this week.
At 9:30 am ET, Kansas City Fed President Esther George is due to deliver the keynote at the "Global Oil Supply & Demand: Prospects for Greater Balance" Conference in Oklahoma City.
Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan is also scheduled to participate in a moderated Q&A session at the conference at 1:30 pm ET.
Stocks In Focus
Shares of Versartis (VSAR) are seeing substantial weakness in pre-market trading after the biopharmaceutical company said its experimental drug for the treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children did not meet its primary endpoint in a late-stage study.
Athletic shoe and apparel retailer Finish Line (FINL) may also come under pressure after reporting better than expected second quarter earnings but lowering its full-year guidance.
Shares of Presidio (PSDO) are also seeing pre-market weakness after the information technology company reported fiscal fourth quarter earnings that met estimates but on weaker than expected revenues.
On the other hand, shares of CarMax (KMX) may move to the upside after the used car dealership chain reported second quarter results that beat analyst estimates on both the top and bottom lines.
T-Mobile (TMUS) may also see early strength after a report from Reuters said the wireless carrier is close to agreeing to tentative terms on a deal to merge with Sprint (S).
Shares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) may also be in focus amid reports the company is planning to cut at least 5,000 workers, or about 10 percent of its staff, by the end of the year.
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April 17, 2026 15:29 ET The ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to raise concerns for policymakers who worry about the impact of the supply shock and high energy prices on the real economy. Producer price data and various survey results on the housing market were the main news from the U.S. this week. In Europe, industrial production data for the euro area gained attention. GDP figures out of China and the policy move by the Singapore central bank were in focus in Asia.