U.S. stocks were poised to pull back slightly on Friday as
investors continued to assess the pace of global growth.
Intraday stock swings picked up this week after China
unexpectedly devalued its currency, signaling the government's
rising concern about slow growth. Fresh data on Friday showed the
eurozone's nascent recovery suffered a setback last quarter. At the
same time, economic news out of the U.S. this week has been broadly
consistent with continued modest expansion, which some investors
say is enough to lift corporate profits.
Back-and-forth action this week has left major indexes nearly
flat for the week. The Dow has added 0.2% and the S&P 500 has
advanced 0.3% this week, through Thursday's close. The Nasdaq
Composite has pulled back 0.2%.
Stock futures indicated a 0.3% opening loss for the S&P 500.
Changes in futures aren't necessarily reflected in market moves
after the opening bell.
Investors "continue to re-evaluate the importance of the move in
the yuan," said Peter Kenny, chief market strategist at Clearpool
Group. The sharp moves during trading on Wednesday and Thursday, in
which stocks ended little changed, illustrate the uncertainty among
investors about the direction of the market in the short term, he
added.
European stocks drifted lower after data revealed lackluster
economic growth in the eurozone. Germany's DAX slipped 0.5% and
France's CAC-40 lost 0.6%.
On Friday, investors will receive updates on inflation,
industrial production and consumer sentiment.
Some encouraging signs have been emerging from the retail
sector, Mr. Kenny said. Retail sales, which represent a significant
portion of consumer spending, rose in July. After the bell
Thursday, retailer Nordstrom Inc. posted better-than-expected
profit and revenue in its second quarter, and lifted its forecasts
for the year. Nordstrom shares rose 5.4% premarket.
"Retail has been slightly better than expected, and that has
been buttressed by an improving employment trend in the space," he
said. "That's a positive," he added, noting that the U.S. economy
is driven by consumers.
In commodity markets, crude-oil futures rose 0.4% to $42.38 a
barrel. Gold futures added 0.2% to $1118.00 an ounce.
Write to Saumya Vaishampayan at saumya.vaishampayan@wsj.com
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