Investing.com - Wall Street futures slid lower on Friday, as a possible delay in the implementation of a key U.S. tax cut bill continued to dampen investors confidence, while markets continued to follow U.S. President Donald Trump's trip throughout Asia.
U.S. Senate Republicans unveiled a plan on Thursday which would reduce the corporate tax rate to 20% from 35% and make other significant changes to the individual tax system.
However, investors remain cautious as Senate Republican leaders said that they were considering postponing the implementation of the major corporate tax cut until 2019.
Meanwhile, a House tax reform bill, which differs from the Senate version, would be expected to take effect next year. If the Senate and House pass separate tax bills, lawmakers will have to reconcile them.
The blue-chip Dow futures were down 0.22%, the S&P 500 futures fell 0.39%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.34%.
Media stocks were likely to remain in focus, after 21st Century Fox on Thursday reported third-quarter revenue slightly above expectations. The company had already made headlines earlier in the week following reports it has been in talks to sell most of its company to Disney.
Markets were also still digesting reports that the U.S. Justice Department told AT&T (NYSE:T) to sell Turner Broadcasting, which includes CNN, or DirecTV as condition for approval of the $85 billion AT&T-Time Warner deal. Responding to the reports, AT&T said it has \"no intention\" of selling CNN.
Financial stocks were likely to remain important movers, after weighing heavily on markets this week due to mounting concerns over the Trump administration\'s capacity to implement desired tax reforms.
Shares were mixed in pre-market trade, as Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) slipped 0.23%, while Citigroup (NYSE:C) gained 0.46%.
In the tech sector, NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) shares were up 3.01% before the open. On Thursday, the company reported a a third-quarter revenue increase of 32%, year-over-year, while earnings climbed 41%. The group\'s chips have especially proven valuable in the mining of cryptocurrencies.
On the earnings front for Friday, JC Penney Company Inc Holding (NYSE:JCP), Eco Stim Energy Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ESES), PLx Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:PLXP), Calumet Specialty Products Partners (NASDAQ:CLMT) and Eco Stim Energy Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ESES) are a few of the names posting results ahead of the opening bell.
Market participants were also monitoring President Trump\'s trip throughout Asia. Trump was set to attend a major economic summit in Vietnam on Friday morning, where he was expected to argue for new trade rules and lobby against North Korea.
In a meeting with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Thursday, the U.S. President condemned countries he deemed guilty of \"chronic trade abuses.\"
He then went on to blame his predecessors for the “huge” trade deficit between the world’s two largest economies and commended the Chinese President\'s support for his efforts to tackle North Korea’s weapons programs.
The two leaders unveiled more than $250 billion in economic deals at the conclusion of their meeting.