Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a lower open on Friday as investors’ sour mood continued ahead of a looming government shutdown. Trade was expected to be thin as many investors packed up for the Christmas holiday, but key economic data was apt to keep some traders at their desk before heading off for the long weekend.
The blue-chip Dow futures fell 56 points, or 0.24%, to 22,940.50 points by 6:52 AM ET (11:52 GMT), while S&P 500 futures lost 8 points, or 0.33%, to 2,478.00 points. Meanwhile the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures traded down 25 points, or 0.40%, to 6,300.25.
“China is cooling and the euro zone is slowing down, and some of the economic indicators from the U.S. have been a bit soft recently, but yet the Fed hiked rates and suggested that two more interest rate hikes were lined up for 2019,” said Michael Hewson, chief markets analyst at CMC Markets in London.
He said speculation the U.S. economy could be headed for a recession has picked up, dampening global sentiment. “Fear about a U.S. government shutdown is playing into the mix too.”
Although the U.S. House of Representatives passed a temporary funding measure on Thursday that included funding for the proposed southern border wall, odds were low that the Senate would give its approval, causing fears that an agreement would not be reached to avoid a government shutdown ahead of Friday’s midnight deadline.
The House passed a bill to keep the government running until Feb. 8, but the Senate, which convenes at 12:00 PM ET (17:00 GMT), would likely shoot down the proposal precisely because of the more than $5 billion in funding for the wall.
U.S. President Donald Trump refused to sign off on any temporary funding that lacks payment for border security.
Despite the upcoming holiday season, Friday’s session will be replete with a deluge of economic data.
First up, the Commerce Department will report on durable goods orders for November at 8:30 AM ET (13:30 GMT).
On average, economists expect that orders for long-lasting goods rose 1.6% last month and that core durable goods orders, which exclude autos, rose 0.3%.
The final measure of third-quarter GDP will also be released at that time, with forecasts for it to stay at its previous estimate of growth at an annual rate of 3.5%.
At 10:00 AM ET (15:00 GMT), the November figures on personal spending and income will be published, with both expected to have risen 0.3%. The core PCE price index, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge, is forecast to tick up to an annual rate of 1.9%, just below the Fed’s target.
Also coming in at that time will be the final measure of the University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index for December. Economists expect it rose slightly from its preliminary measure to 97.6.
Ahead of the data, the U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against six rival currencies, was up 0.33% to 96.05 by 6:54 AM ET (11:54 GMT).
In company news and amid the downbeat mood in U.S. equities, Nike provided a ray of hope when it reported strong earnings after Thursday’s close. Shares in Nike (NYSE:NKE) soared more than 8% in premarket trade on Friday.
Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) stock also wowed investors with better-than-expected quarterly results that saw shares jump 5% in extended trade.
In the negative, shares of CalAmp (NASDAQ:CAMP) plummeted nearly 9% with quarterly results that missed consensus and a weaker-than-expected guidance.
In commodities, gold futures fell 0.37% to $1,263.15 a troy ounce, while crude oil lost 0.96% to $45.44 a barrel.
-- Reuters contributed to this report.