Strategic Wealth Partners President and CEO Mark Tepper discusses inflation and advises on investments.
U.S. stock futures have suggested a higher opening date when the Friday session on Wall Street begins.
The major futures indices want to add 0.2% to the opening clock.
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The largest number to look at is existing home sales for December. The National Association of Realtors is expected to say that sales of previously owned homes fell by 1.5% monthly to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.61 million units, compared to the stronger-than-expected reading of 6.76 million in December.
In Europe, the FTSE was down 0.2% from London, the German DAX was up 0.5% and the French CAC was up 0.5%.
In Asia, the Nikkei 225 sank in Tokyo by 0.7%, the Hang Seng in Hong Kong by 0.2% and the Chinese Shanghai Composite Index by 0.6%.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ek: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 31493.34 | -119.68 | -0.38% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3913.97 | -17.36 | -0.44% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITION INDEX | 13865.35594 | -100.14 | -0.72% |
On Thursday, the S&P 500 fell 0.4% for its third daily decline. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.4% to 31,493.34. The Nasdaq Composite tumbled 0.7%.
Stocks withdrew after the US government reported last week that 861,000 people had applied for unemployment benefits. Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s most recent meeting showed that central bank officials believe the coronavirus pandemic still poses a major risk to the economy.
ANOTHER 861,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits in the past week
In Washington, Finance Minister Janet Yellen called on Congress to prevent President Biden’s proposed $ 1.9 billion aid package from being cut. She said the economy is in a deep hole, despite signs of improvement.
In equities, the Dow component Walmart Inc. mixed quarterly results reported, saying it still plans to raise wages for another 425,000 workers to above $ 15 an hour. The company said sales at U.S. stores rose 8.6% year-on-year, excluding fuel. Shares fell 6.5%.
GAMESTOP HEARING PUTS REPORT FUNDS IN THE HOT CHAIR
Shares in GameStop fell 11.4% on Thursday. Congress has held a hearing on the recent volatility of companies caught in a tug-of-war between Wall Street institutional investors who are mutually opposed to the companies and the online retail investors who have pushed the shares higher.
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In the energy markets, standard US crude oil fell $ 1.45 a barrel to $ 59.07 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract lost 62 cents on Thursday and closed at $ 60.52. Brent crude oil, used to price international oils, withdrew $ 1.20 to $ 62.75 a barrel in London. The previous session dropped 41 cents to $ 63.93.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.