US pre-open: Futures point to gains following tech sell-off
Wall Street futures had stocks opening higher before of the bell on Friday as investors awaited some key consumer sentiment data set for release later in the day.
As of 1230 BST, Dow Jones futures were up 0.22%, while S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures had the indices opening 0.37% and 0.91% firmer, respectively.
The Dow closed 135.39 points lower on Thursday following a drop in Asian indices overnight and a sharp sell-off in tech shares.
Released overnight, results from Netflix were in focus on Friday after the streaming giant posted second-quarter earnings figures that fell short of estimates and offered up weaker-than-expected guidance for third-quarter subscriber growth of 2.5m - well and truly shy of estimates of 5.27m. Shares in Netflix, as well as fellow major tech firms Apple, Amazon and Alphabet, were also on track to end the week softer.
Oanda's Edward Moya said: "The technology stock rally seems like it is ready to come slowly back to reality, possibly boosting cyclical stocks. US stocks are looking for a positive open but that could quickly change if EU leaders show signs an agreement won't be reached this week."
Market participants were thumbing over earnings from investment manager BlackRock ahead of the open, with the firm topping earnings and revenue expectations.
On the virus front, at least 39 states reported case number increases from the week before, with Florida remaining the current epicentre. However, the continued increases in the number of new Covid-19 cases across the US seemed to be partly offset by optimism around further fiscal stimulus from Congress, with work on a new package expected to begin as soon as next week. Lawmakers were also said to be looking at renewing expanded unemployment benefits set to expire at the end of the month.
In macro news, building permits and housing starts data will be released at 1330 BST, while the University of Michigan's all-important consumer sentiment index will follow at 1500 BST.