Benzinga - by Shanthi Rexaline, Benzinga Editor. The market is still facing challenges, as stock futures indicate a slow start for Friday. While stocks might try to recover by taking advantage of bargain opportunities, there isn’t a strong driving force, which adds to the uncertainty. Economist David Rosenberg cautioned that we might be entering a new bear phase in the market, and mentioned the possibility of a prolonged downward trend.
Cues From Thursday's Trading:
A string of strong economic data released Thursday aggravated the risk-off mood in the market, sending the major averages lower yet again.
Jobless claims for the recent reporting week came in less than expected, a regional report showed a rebound in manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia region and the Conference Board's leading economic index fell in line with expectations.
Stocks opened Thursday’s session slightly higher but reversed course in early trading and languished mostly below the unchanged line. The selling intensified in late-afternoon trading culminating in negative the major averages declining for a third straight session.
All S&P sector classes, except energy stocks, closed in negative terrain. Consumer discretionary, consumer staple and technology stocks fell by the most.
US Index Performance On Thursday
| Index | Performance (+/-) | Value |
| Nasdaq Composite | -1.17% | 13,316.93 |
| S&P 500 Index | -0.77% | 4,370.36 |
| Dow Industrials | -0.84% | 34,474.83 |
| Russell 2000 | -1.15% | 1,850.06 |
Analyst Color:
It doesn't do good reading into the message currently relayed by the stock market, according to comments from Carson Group analyst Ryan Detrick. The analyst noted that an average year sees three separate stock market corrections per year.
The S&P 500 Index is now down 4.8% from the late-July peak and is therefore on the edge of seeing a second 5% pullback this year, he noted.
“This is normal action after a huge rally into a seasonally weak period,” he added.
Stocks go up and down (but usually up).The avg yr sees more than 3 separate 5% corrections per yr.
S&P 500 down 4.8% from the late July peak right now, so on the edge of the second 5% pullback this yr.
This is normal action after a huge rally into a seasonally weak period. pic.twitter.com/kh4U22AlBp
— Ryan Detrick, CMT (@RyanDetrick) August 17, 2023
Futures Today
Futures Performance On Friday
| Futures | Performance (+/-) |
| Nasdaq 100 | -0.06% |
| S&P 500 | -0.25% |
| Dow | -0.12% |
| R2K | -0.12% |
In premarket trading on Friday, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) moved down 0.10% to $435.85 and the Invesco QQQ ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ) fell 0.23% to $357.76, according to Benzinga Pro data.
Upcoming Economic Data:
The economic calendar for the day is literally empty.
See also: Best Futures Trading Software
Stocks In Focus:
- Bill Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:BILL) fell about 5.5% in premarket trading in reaction to its quarterly results.
- Farfetch Ltd. (NYSE:FTCH) tumbled about 38% following its quarterly earnings announcement.
- Ross Stores, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROST) and Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) advanced about 3% and 5.5%, respectively, following their earnings releases.
- Buckle, Inc. (NYSE:BKE), Vipshop Holdings Ltd. (NYSE:VIPS), XPeng, Inc. (NYSE:XPEV), The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (NYSE:EL), and Deere & Co. (NYSE:DE) are among the companies due to release their quarterly results before the market open.
- Palo Alto Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ:PANW) is due to report after the market close.
Crude oil futures slipped 0.27% to $80.16 in early European session on Friday after rising 0.86% on Thursday.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 0.081 percentage points to 4.227%.
The Asian market slumped on Friday, led lower by the Hong Kong and Chinese market, while the Australian market bucked the downtrend, although closing up only marginally. The weak cues from Wall Street and continuing negative tidings about the Chinese economy weighed down on stocks.
Chinese property firm Evergrande Group filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S., triggering worries concerning a real estate crash in China.
European stocks pulled back sharply in late-morning trading on Friday as traders digested some domestic economic data. U.K. retail sales fell more than expected, while the eurozone inflation data for July came in line with expectations.
This illustration was generated using artificial intelligence via MidJourney.
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