U.S. Market Futures Pointing Lower as the Market Cools

U.S. stock futures are pointing lower in pre-market trading for Friday, September 23. The Dow Futures are at 18284.0 for a loss of -15.00 points. The S&P 500 Futures are at 2165.25 for a loss of -3.00 points. The Nasdaq Futures are lower at 4880.5 for a loss of -5.75 points. The Russell Futures are at 1258.2 for a loss of -1.20 points.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is lower at 16754.02 for a loss of -53.60 points or -0.32 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is at 23686.48 for a loss of -73.32 points or -0.31 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite is at 3033.90 for a loss of -8.42 points or -0.28 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex is at 28668.22 for a loss of -104.91 points or -0.36 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 is at 6906.99 for a loss of -4.41 points or -0.06 percent. Germany’s DAX is at 10648.09 for a loss of -26.09 points or -0.24 percent. France’s CAC 40 is at 4489.91 for a loss of -19.91 points or -0.44 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 is at 345.55 for a loss of -2.31 points or -0.66 percent.

Friday’s Factors and Events

Stocks are trading lower in the pre-market, retreating slightly from three days of gains. On the economic calendar for Friday are the following reports: the PMI Manufacturing Index Flash, the Atlanta Fed Business Inflation Expectations and the Baker Hughes Rig Count. Fed speeches include Patrick Harker, the Regional Fed Presidents Panel and Robert Kaplan.

Investors are hoping for a strong finish to the week however it could be a volatile day of trading Friday. Oil prices are trending lower and stocks are down. Leading tech stocks Facebook and Yahoo are both lower.

Stocks trading actively in the pre-market include the following:

Southwestern Energy

Pioneer Natural Resources

Red Hat

Kohls

L Brands

Discovery Communications

Perrigo Company PLC

Frontier Communications

Thursday’s Activity

U.S. market indexes were higher on Thursday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18392.46 for a gain of 98.76 points or 0.54 percent. The S&P 500 was also higher, closing at 2177.18 for a gain of 14.06 points or 0.65 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed higher at 5339.52 for a gain of 44.34 points or 0.84 percent.

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Source: DJIA, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite. Google Finance.

Other notable index closes included the small-cap Russell 2000 Index at 1263.44 for a gain of 18.40 points or 1.48 percent; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index at 764.64 for a gain of 11.51 points or 1.53 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1562.94 for a gain of 18.27 points or 1.18 percent; the S&P 100 Index at 963.20 for a gain of 5.95 points or 0.62 percent; the Russell 3000 Index at 1290.51 for a gain of 9.66 points or 0.75 percent; the Russell 1000 Index at 1207.30 for a gain of 8.33 points or 0.69 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 622.21 for a gain of 4.43 points or 0.72 percent.