U.S. Market Futures Pointing Lower with Negative Outlook

U.S. stock futures are pointing lower in pre-market trading for Friday, October 21. The Dow Futures are at 18063.0 for a loss of -45.00 points. The S&P 500 Futures are at 2132.0 for a loss of -5.00 points. The Nasdaq Futures are lower at 4840.75 for a loss of -3.00 points. The Russell Futures are lower at 1214.6 for a loss of -4.10 points.

In overnight trading in the Eastern Hemisphere, Japan’s Nikkei 225 is at 17184.59 for a loss of -50.91 points or -0.30 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index is at 23374.40 for a loss of 69.43 points or 0.30 percent. China’s Shanghai Composite is at 3090.94 for a gain of 6.48 points or 0.21 percent. India’s S&P BSE Sensex is at 28077.18 for a loss of -52.66 points or -0.19 percent. In Europe, the FTSE 100 is at 7043.15 for a gain of 16.25 points or 0.23 percent. Germany’s DAX is at 10715.02 for a gain of 13.63 points or 0.13 percent. France’s CAC 40 is at 4536.14 for a loss of -3.98 points or -0.09 percent. The Stoxx Europe 600 is at 344.64 for a gain of 0.35 points or 0.10 percent.

Friday’s Factors and Events

Stocks are pointing lower as investors have a negative outlook for the day’s reports. The Baker Hughes Rig Count is the only leading report on the economic calendar for the day. Fed speeches are scheduled from Daniel Tarullo and John Williams.

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

Reynolds American

Microsoft

Alliance Data Systems

Citrix Systems

PayPal

Textron

Alaska Air Group

CF Industries Holdings

Time Warner

Cabot Oil & Gas

Approximately 20 companies will be reporting earnings on Friday. In the Dow Jones Industrial Average, McDonald’s and GE will be reporting earnings.

Thursday’s Activity

U.S. market indexes were lower Thursday. For the day the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 18162.35 for a loss of -40.27 points or -0.22 percent. The S&P 500 closed at 2141.34 for a loss of -2.95 points or -0.14 percent. The Nasdaq Composite closed lower at 5241.83 for a loss of -4.58 points or -0.09 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 lower at 1219.79 for a loss of -2.85 points or -0.23 percent; the S&P 600 Small-Cap Index lower at 735.70 for a loss of -4.62 points or -0.62 percent; the S&P 400 Mid-Cap Index at 1527.92 for a loss of -6.11 points or -0.40 percent; the S&P 100 Index at 949.12 for a loss of -0.89 points or -0.09 percent; the Russell 3000 Index at 1266.47 for a loss of -2.09 points or -0.16 percent; the Russell 1000 Index at 1186.41 for a loss of -1.89 points or -0.16 percent; and the Dow Jones U.S. Select Dividend Index at 600.92 for a loss of -3.00 points or -0.50 percent.