Stocks poised for a dip

By CNNMoney.com staff


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- U.S. stocks were poised to fall at the start of Friday's session, as uncertainty about the global economic outlook overshadowed a strong report on U.S. retail sales.

Ahead of the opening bell, Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all lower.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance and offer an indication of how markets may open when trading begins.

U.S. stocks slumped Thursday, with the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq all losing at least 1%. The decline came after a rally earlier in the week had lifted stocks 5%.

Economy: Several economic reports were due out early Friday.

The Commerce Department reported that retail sales rose 0.4%in April. Sales had been expected to have risen just 0.2% after climbing 1.9% the previous month, according to a consensus of economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

A report on industrial production and capacity utilization is due at 9:15 a.m. ET. Industrial production is expected to have climbed 0.8% in April after a 0.1% boost in March, while capacity utilization is seen bumping up to 73.9% from 73.2%.

Shortly after U.S. markets open, the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment survey is due out. The sentiment index is expected to have risen to 73.5 from 72.2. A report on business inventories is also on tap.

World markets: Ongoing worries about the European debt crisis dragged on stocks in the region. In morning trading, the CAC 40 in France tumbled 2.7%. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.9% and Germany's DAX shed 1.5%.

Asian markets finished the session lower. Japan's benchmark Nikkei index closed down 1.5% and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong posted a loss of 1.4%.

Dollar and commodities: The dollar was up 0.4% against the euro and 1.8% on the British pound. The greenback was down 0.1% versus the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil fell $1.18 to $73.22 a barrel. COMEX gold for June delivery was up $17.10 to $1,245.90 per ounce, foraying toward record territory.

Bonds: Treasury prices were mostly down early Friday. The price was down on the benchmark 10-year note, driving up the yield to 3.48%. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions. To top of page

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Index Last Change % Change
Dow 12,454.83 -74.92 -0.60%
Nasdaq 2,837.53 -1.85 -0.07%
S&P 500 1,317.82 -2.86 -0.22%
Treasuries 1.74 -0.01 -0.80%
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Company Price Change % Change
Bank of America Corp... 7.15 0.01 0.14%
Sprint Nextel Corp 2.62 0.09 3.56%
Cisco Systems Inc 16.33 -0.06 -0.37%
Chesapeake Energy Co... 15.81 0.23 1.48%
Ford Motor Co 10.60 0.01 0.09%
Data as of May 25

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