US equities futures declined on Friday, signaling a muted end to a strong week on Wall Street as investors awaited data on the economy’s performance at the start of 2021.
The futures contract linked to the S&P 500 fell 0.7%, indicating that the benchmark may open lower after megacap technology companies pushed it to its fourth record of the new year on Thursday. Futures for the technology-focused Nasdaq-100 index lost 0.6% and contracts linked to the Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.8%.
Markets appear to be stagnating after contracting for most of January, with money managers saying there was no clear catalyst for the decline. Investors have been encouraged by a solid start to the earnings season over the past few days, although some are worried that the high valuations in the corners of the market will be vulnerable in the coming months.
“With a lack of new ammunition, people simply stop,” said Lars Skovgaard Andersen, investment strategist at Danske Bank Wealth Management.
Investors are wary of adding new positions ahead of the Federal Reserve’s decision on monetary policy and earnings of big companies, including Facebook, Apple and Tesla next week, he added.