U.S. stock futures decline, pointing to a weekly loss for major indexes as they retreat from records.
U.S. stock futures slid Friday, putting the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrials Average on course to erase most or all of August’s gains.
Futures tied to the S&P 500 retreated 0.4%, indicating that the broader market may post losses at the opening bell. The index hasshed almost 1.4% this weekthrough Thursday’s close, leaving it on track for its biggest weekly loss since mid-June.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures also contracted 0.4%. The blue-chip index has dropped 1.8% so far this week. Contracts tied to the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 ticked down 0.2%.
Stocks have been rocked this week by concerns that anuptick in Covid-19 infectionsglobally and a slowdown in China’s growth could impede the economic recovery. Worries about rising inflation levels and the Federal Reserve’s signals that it willscale back some of its easy money policiesare also weighing on sentiment. New lockdowns to contain the virus could put further pressure on supply chains, investors say.
“We’re looking at a period of very strong, but also very uneven global growth over the next couple of months,” said Hugh Gimber, a strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. “The government reaction now looks very different across different parts of the world. If inflation does prove to be more stubborn, it could change how quickly the Fed has to tighten once they get going.”
The Cboe Volatility Index, a gauge of turbulence in markets, rose to its highest level since May.
Money managers moved funds into assets that are considered safer to hold. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note ticked down to 1.235% from 1.241% Thursday. Yields fall when bond prices rise.
In premarket trading,Foot Lockershares rose more than 6% after the company said its second-quarter profit and sales rose. Shares of farm-equipment maker Deere rose 1.4% after its quarterly profit more than doubled to surpass expectations, and it raised its full-year earnings outlook.
Futures on Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 0.6% to $66.05 a barrel.
The sapping of risk appetite weighed on stocks world-wide. The pan-continental Stoxx Europe 600 slid 0.2%. The benchmark is on track for its worst weekly performance since February.
China’s Shanghai Composite closed down 1.1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng contracted 1.8%, capping off atumultuous week for stocksin both markets. The selloff this week was sparked by regulators in the country stepping up theirscrutiny of internet-technology companies. Several state-media commentaries and articles have also suggested that Chinese regulators plan to get tough on more industries.
Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi declined 1.2%.