Wall Street Targets To Open Lower

Personal Income and Spending might get special attention on Friday. Amazon (AMZN) and Apple (AAPL) are among the companies reporting quarterly results after the close of today’s trading.

Asian shares finished mixed, while European shares are trading lower.

Early trends on the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open down.

As of 7.25 am ET, the Dow futures were down 36.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were declining 22.25 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were sliding 138.50 points.

The U.S. major averages finished higher on Thursday. The Dow climbed 239.79 points or 0.7 percent to 35,730.48, the Nasdaq surged 212.28 points or 1.4 percent to 15,448.12 and the S&P 500 jumped 44.74 points or 1 percent to 4,596.42.

On the economic front, the Labor Department’s Employment Cost Index for the third quarter will be published at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.9 percent, while it was up 0.7 percent in the prior quarter.

The Commerce Department’s Personal Income and Outlays for September will be released at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for a deficit of 0.1 percent, while it was up 0.2 percent in the prior month.

Chicago PMI’s for October will be revealed at 9.45 am ET. The consensus is for 64.2, while it was up 64.7 in the previous month.

University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment for October will be published at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is 71.4, while it was up 71.4 in the prior month.

Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be issued at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 706, while the U.S. rig count was 542.

Agriculture Department’s Farm Prices for September is scheduled at 3.00 pm ET. In the prior month, the Farm Prices were up 2.3 percent.

Asian stocks ended Friday’s session on a mixed note. Chinese shares advanced, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite index closing up 28.92 points, or 0.82 percent, at 3,547.34. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 178.49 points, or 0.70 percent, to 25,377.24.

Japanese shares reversed early losses to end modestly higher. The Nikkei average ended up 72.60 points, or 0.25 percent, at 28,892.69. The broader Topix index finished marginally higher at 2,001.18.

Australian markets fell sharply. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 106.70 points, or 1.44 percent, to finish at 7,323.70, marking its worst day and week since Oct. 1. The broader All Ordinaries index ended down 100.60 points, or 1.30 percent, at 7,639.10.

European shares are trading lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 24.20 points or 0.36 percent. The German DAX is losing 124.72 points or 0.79 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is sliding 13.24 points or 0.18 percent.

The Swiss Market Index is declining 78.88 points or 0.65 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 0.60 percent.

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