The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a lower opening on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the pullback seen in the previous session.
The downward momentum on Wall Street comes as traders react to earnings news from big-name companies like Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL).
Shares of Amazon are moving sharply lower in pre-market trading after the online retail giant reported weaker than expected first quarter earnings.
Tech giant Apple may also move to the downside after reporting better than expected quarterly results but declining to provide guidance amid uncertainty about the coronavirus pandemic.
Shares of Honeywell (HON) may also come under pressure after the conglomerate reported first quarter earnings that beat estimates but weaker than expected sales.
Stocks showed a notable move to the downside during trading on Thursday, giving back ground following the rally seen over the course of the trading day on Wednesday.
The major averages all ended the day firmly in negative territory. The Dow tumbled 288.14 points or 1.2 percent to 24,345.72, the Nasdaq fell 25.16 points or 0.3 percent to 8,889.55 and the S&P 500 slumped 27.08 points or 0.9 percent to 2,912.43.
Profit taking contributed to the weakness on Wall Street, with traders cashing in on the strong upward move seen in recent sessions.
The rally seen in the previous session lifted the major averages to their best closing levels in well over a month.
The pullback by stocks also came following the release of some disappointing U.S. economic data.
Personal income in the U.S. tumbled by more than expected in the month of March, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Thursday.
The report said personal income plunged by 2.0 percent in March after climbing by 0.6 percent in February. Economists had expected personal income to slump by 1.5 percent.
The Commerce Department said personal spending also plummeted by 7.5 percent in March after inching up by 0.2 percent in the previous month. Spending was expected to nosedive by 5.0 percent.
A separate report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a notable decrease in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended April 25th, although claims remain at a significantly elevated level.
The Labor Department said initial jobless claims tumbled to 3.839 million, a decrease of 603,000 from the previous week's revised level of 4.442 million.
Economists had expected jobless claims to drop to 3.500 million from the 4.427 million originally reported for the previous week.
Steel stocks showed a substantial move to the downside on the day, dragging the NYSE Arca Steel Index down by 5.5 percent.
Considerable weakness was also visible among banking stocks, as reflected by the 3.8 percent slump by the KBW Bank Index.
Energy, gold and semiconductor stocks also saw significant weakness, moving lower along with most of the other major sectors.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are jumping $1.02 to $19.86 a barrel after spiking $3.78 to $18.84 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after plunging $19.20 to $1,694.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $5.20 to $1,689 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 106.66 yen versus the 107.18 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0981 compared to yesterday's $1.0955.
Asia
Asian stocks fell in thin holiday trading on Friday after Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. warned of uncertainty ahead due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Markets in South Korea, China, India, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand were closed for holidays.
Japanese shares fell from a near eight-week high, with chip-related firms pacing the declines. The Nikkei 225 Index tumbled 574.34 points, or 2.8 percent, to 19,619.35 after gaining 2.6 percent the previous day. The broader Topix closed 2.2 percent lower at 1,431.26.
Semiconductor-related stocks lost ground after the Philadelphia semiconductor index fell 3.7 percent overnight. Tokyo Electron gave up 5.5 percent, Screen Holdings slumped 6.1 percent and Advantest declined 5.6 percent.
In economic news, consumer prices in the Tokyo region were up 0.2 percent year-on-year in April, a government report showed - coming in below expectations for an increase of 0.3 percent and down from 0.4 percent in March. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food prices, fell an annual 0.1 percent.
A measure of Japan's consumer confidence weakened at a record pace in April, another report showed. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the consumer confidence index decreased to 21.6 in April from 30.9 in March.
The minutes from the Bank of Japan's emergency meeting on March 16 showed that board members have voiced concerns about a cash squeeze for small firms, spiking unemployment and a slump in business spending.
Australian markets tumbled, dragged down by banks and miners after a survey showed the manufacturing sector in the country fell deep into contraction in April, reflecting the damage from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The AIG's manufacturing PMI dropped to 35.8 from 53.7 in March, marking the worst pace of contraction since April 2009.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index plunged 276.50 points, or 5 percent, to 5,245.90, while the broader All Ordinaries Index slumped 272.70 points, or 4.9 percent, to 5,325.
Mining heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto plummeted 7.8 percent and 5.6 percent, respectively while smaller rival Fortescue Metals Group lost 8.2 percent. Gold miners Evolution Mining, Newcrest and Northern Star Resources gave up 8-9 percent after gold prices further extended losses overnight.
Beach Energy, Origin Energy, Woodside Petroleum, Oil Search and Santos lost 5-8 percent despite oil prices rising on a slower-than-expected rise in oil storage demand.
ResMed rallied 3.3 percent after the medical equipment provider reported a 55 percent surge in profit for the third quarter from last year.
New Zealand shares started the month on a downbeat note after having scored their biggest monthly gain in four years in April. The benchmark NZX-50 Index dropped 83.06 points, or 0.8 percent, to 10,449.01 amid apprehension surrounding the earnings and economic outlook.
Data out of South Korea showed that the country's exports dived 24.3 percent year-on-year in April, marking the worst contraction since May 2009.
Europe
U.K. stocks have fallen sharply on Friday, with coronavirus worries and weak earnings updates from the likes of Apple and Amazon weighing on sentiment. Other major European markets were closed for Labor Day
Prime Minister Boris Johnson declared that the U.K. was officially past the peak of coronavirus infections but asked people to continue to comply with lockdown restrictions.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she would like to see China work together with her organization, and others, to get to the bottom of exactly how the coronavirus started.
The benchmark FTSE 100 Index is currently slumping by 1.8 percent after suffering its worst daily drop in a month on Thursday.
Miners fell across the board, with Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore posting notable losses.
Baker and takeaway food group Greggs has also slumped. The company put its plan to reopen branches in the U.K. on hold, fearing there could be huge queues.
Home builder Barratt Developments has also fallen. The company has announced plans for a phased reopening of its construction sites, which were closed on March 27 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
International Airlines Group has also tumbled. The Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company said that iberia líneas aéreas de españa s.a. operadora, sociedad unipersonal and Vueling Airlines, S.A. have signed syndicated financing agreements for 750 million euros and 260 million euros respectively.
Ryanair Holdings has also plunged. The Group expects to report a net loss of over 100 million euros in the first quarter, with further losses expected in the second quarter due to the substantial decline in traffic arising from Covid-19 fleet groundings.
Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Scotland Group has moved notably higher after the bank set aside802 million pounds ($1 billion) for bad loans.
In economic news, U.K. house prices increased at the fastest pace since 2017 before the coronavirus pandemic struck the economy, data published by the Nationwide Building Society showed.
House prices increased 3.7 percent on a yearly basis in April, faster than the 3 percent rise in March. The annual growth was forecast to ease to 2.5 percent.
U.S. Economic Reports
At 10 am ET, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on manufacturing activity in the month of April.
The purchasing managers index is expected to tumble to 36.9 in April from 49.1 in March, with a reading below 50 indicating a contraction in manufacturing activity.
The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on construction spending in the month of March at 10 am ET. Construction spending is expected to plunge by 3.5 percent.
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December 26, 2025 08:42 ET Third quarter economic growth data from some major economies including the U.S. were the main news in this holiday shortened week. GDP growth and industrial production data from the U.S. helped to boost morale, while the consumer confidence survey results were less upbeat. In Europe, the quarterly economic growth data from the U.K. drew attention, while the minutes of the Australian central bank’s latest policy session was in focus in Asia.