By Peter Nurse
Investing.com - U.S. stocks are seen edging lower Friday, consolidating after recent gains with investors remaining confident vaccinations and additional fiscal stimulus will result in a reasonably prompt economic recovery.
At 7:05 AM ET (1205 GMT), the Dow Futures contract was down 60 points, or 0.2%, S&P 500 Futures traded 8 points, or 0.2%, lower, and Nasdaq 100 Futures climbed 19 points, or 0.1%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell slightly Thursday, after hitting an intraday all-time high of 31,543.82. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite posted small gains to both close at new record highs.
The major averages are on track to post another positive week, with the DJIA up 0.9% this week, bringing its February gains to 4.8%. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq have risen 0.8% and 1.2%, respectively, this week, up 5.4% and 7.3% this month, on track to make February the strongest month since November.
Stock markets have benefited from the expectation of additional stimulus from the new administration, and a House committee on Thursday approved a proposal to give airlines another $14 billion as part of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion Covid-19 relief bill.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi expects lawmakers to complete the bill’s legislation by the end of February, even with former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial taking up a lot of Congress’s time.
Turning to vaccinations, the U.S. announced Thursday further deals for 100 million additional vaccine doses each from Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) and Moderna (NASDAQ:MRNA). This should increase the country’s vaccine supply enough by April to allow anyone who wants a shot to begin getting one, said Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor.
This earnings season has tended to be stronger than expected, and further evidence of this came from Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) after the bell Thursday. The entertainment giant returned to profit in the fourth quarter, helped by its fast-growing streaming service.
On the economic data slate, Michigan consumer sentiment data are due at 10 AM ET (1500 GMT), while the Federal Budget is expected four hours later.
Oil prices slipped Friday, after both the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and the International Energy Agency cut their forecasts for world oil consumption in 2021, citing the lockdowns in major developed countries, particularly Europe, in the first half of the year.
Later Friday, Baker Hughes releases its weekly U.S. rig count, a rough guide to future crude supply, while the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s data on positioning ends the week’s events.
U.S. crude futures traded 0.7% lower at $57.86 a barrel, while the international benchmark Brent contract fell 0.6% to $60.75. Both contracts closed on Wednesday at their highest levels since January 2020.
Elsewhere, gold futures fell 0.6% to $1,816.25/oz, while EUR/USD traded 0.2% lower at 1.2107.