U.S. stock futures edged lower Friday morning following a sharp rally a day earlier as investors awaited a key reading on the retail sector.
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 69 points, or 0.3%. S&P 500 futures lost 0.3%. Nasdaq-100 futures fell 0.1%.
Monthly retail sales data due out at 8:30 a.m. ET are expected to show a record drop as American consumers largely sheltered in place amid the coronavirus outbreak. April retail sales are expected to plunge 12.3%, which would be the largest decline since the data series began in 1992. Economists expect the report to show extreme weakness in apparel sales, and gasoline and auto sales.
But spending on food and beverage retailers and online purchases likely rose.
The Dow rallied more than 300 points while the S&P 500 gained over 1% on Thursday. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.9%. Gains in bank and energy stocks lifted the major indexes while shares of major tech companies such as Apple and Alphabet added to their recently massive gains.
Despite those gains, however, Wall Street was headed for its biggest weekly decline since late March. The Dow and S&P 500 both ended Thursday’s session down more than 2% for the week. The Nasdaq had lost nearly 2% week to date.
Those would be the averages’ worst weekly performances since the week ending March 20. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all fell at least 12.6%.
“Given the amount of uncertainty about this crisis that still looms, we should not be surprised by the setbacks we’ve seen in markets this week,” said Scott Knapp, chief market strategist at CUNA Mutual Group.
Weekly jobless claims for the week ending May 9 totaled nearly 3 million, according to data from the Labor Department. That brings the total number to more than 36 million since the coronavirus crisis began.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Tuesday there will be more “suffering and death” if states reopen their economies too quickly. His comments came as some states start letting nonessential businesses resume operations.
More than 4.4 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed globally, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. In the U.S. alone, there have been over 1.4 million known infections.
Major investors David Tepper and Stanley Druckenmiller also raised concerns earlier in the week about the market’s overall valuation. Tepper said this is the second-most overvalued market he has ever seen while Druckenmiller noted the risk/reward for owning equities right now is the worst of his career.
However, Trian Partners’ Nelson Peltz said Thursday there is still value in this market, adding: “This thing is not going to last forever.”
The Dow and the S&P 500 remain more than 29% above an intraday low reached on March 23. The Nasdaq Composite has surged about 35% in that time.
—CNBC’s Patti Domm contributed to this report.
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