After recovering from an early sell-off to end the previous session mostly lower but well off their worst levels, stocks are likely to move back to the downside in early trading on Friday.
The major index futures are currently pointing to initial weakness on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.6 percent.
Renewed concerns about inflation may weigh on the markets after the Labor Department released a report showing producer prices increased by much more than expected in the month of December.
The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.5 percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in November. Economists had expected producer prices to rise by another 0.2 percent.
The report also said producer prices in December were up by 3.0 percent compared to the same month a year ago, unchanged from November. The annual rate of growth was expected to slow to 2.7 percent.
New tariff threats from President Donald Trump may also generate negative sentiment, with the president threatening Canada with a 50 percent tariff on all aircraft sold in the U.S. over its refusal to certify certain Gulfstream jets.
Trump also signed an executive order that would impose tariffs on any goods from countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba.
Previously, the futures had recovered from an overnight slump after Trump announced his intent to nominate former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to succeed Fed Chair Jerome Powell.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, noted the choice of Warsh may be seen as a positive sign in terms of Fed independence, as he is “perceived as a more orthodox choice versus some of the other mooted names.”
Following a nosedive seen early in the session, stocks showed a substantial recovery attempt over the course of the trading day on Thursday. The major averages climbed well off their worst levels of the day, with the Dow reaching positive territory.
The Dow ended the day up 55.96 points or 0.1 percent at 49,071.56, while the S&P 500 closed down just 9.02 points or 0.1 percent at 6,969.01.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq ended the day more firmly negative, down 172.33 points or 0.7 percent at 23,685.12, although it had plunged by as much as 2.6 percent.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific region moved mostly lower on Friday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 Index edged down by 0.1 percent, China’s Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index tumbled by 2.1 percent.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have moved to the upside on the day. While the German DAX Index is up by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index is up by 0.4 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are slipping $0.21 to $65.21 a barrel after surging $2.21 to $65.42 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after rising $14.80 to $5,318.40 ounce in the previous session, gold futures are plummeting $295.70 to $5,022.70 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 154.24 yen versus the 153.09 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1914 compared to yesterday’s $1.1969.
Business News
Renewed Inflation Concerns May Weigh On Wall Street
2026-01-30 13:54:38
