Stocks set to open lower
Futures were pointing negative. Trade balance in May narrower than expected. Investors await consumer sentiment report.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to open lower, coming off their declines only slightly after a government report showed a narrower-than-expected trade deficit, as investors anticipate the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment report.
At 8:50 a.m. ET, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 were all indicating a lower open.
"[Futures] are a little bit down because we had a bit of a decline overseas and these things tend to follow each other around the world," said David Wyss, chief economist for Standard & Poor's.
Wyss added that this has been "a quiet week for the markets," with light volume, considering the lack of major market movers and the fact that many on Wall Street are on summer vacation.
Futures measure current index values against the perceived future performance. They can be used as a forecast for trading after the bell, but they're not always an accurate harbinger.
Thursday, stocks were mostly stuck in the mud, with leading indexes posting gains of less than 10 points. Alcoa's (AA, Fortune 500) narrower-than-expected loss failed to dispel concerns about the start of the quarterly reporting period.
Investors have been worried that the economic recovery is going to be slow. As companies start reporting quarterly results, investors will be closely tuning into management forecasts of business conditions for the remainder of the year.
On tap for Friday: The May trade balance shrunk to a deficit of $26 billion, the Commerce Department reported, from the revised deficit of $28.8 billion for April.
Economists had expected the May deficit to widen to $30 billion.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. Import Price Index rose 3.2% in June. Also, export prices rose 1.1% in June.
The University of Michigan releases its initial reading on consumer sentiment at 9:55 a.m. ET. The index is expected to have dipped to 70 from 70.8 in June.
General Motors: The automaker GM (GMGMQ) is expected to exit its 40-day bankruptcy on Friday, after a federal judge denied an 11th hour request to block the bankruptcy. The company will begin life as the new, leaner GM, having cast off its unwanted assets. GM will now be controlled by the federal government, a union healthcare trust fund, the Canadian and Ontario governments, and the old bondholders.
Global markets: Japan's Nikkei stock average dipped slightly for its eighth straight day of declines. The Nikkei lost 5.4% on the week for its steepest weekly decline since late January.
European stock markets were lower in midday trading.
Oil and money: The price of oil fell $1.45 to $58.96. The dollar edged up against the euro and the British pound but slipped versus the yen.
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