(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Friday following heightened tensions between the United States and China, and as Intel’s shares slumped after reporting a delay in a developing new chip technology.
World stocks .WORLD also took a hit after Beijing ordered the Washington to close its consulate in the city of Chengdu, responding to a U.S. demand this week that China close its Houston consulate.
Intel Corp (INTC.O) fell 12% premarket after the company said it was six months behind schedule in developing 7-nanometer chip technology and it would consider farming out more work to outside semiconductor foundries.
Rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD.O) gained 6%.
The S&P 500 pulled back from a five-month high on Thursday, weighed down by losses in technology stocks, a surprise increase in U.S. jobless claims and Washington’s tug-of-war over stimulus measures.
U.S. Senate Republicans will unveil their proposal next week for a fresh round of coronavirus aid, including more direct payments to Americans and a partial extension of enhanced unemployment benefits, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday.
At 6:31 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 27 points, or 0.1%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 4.75 points, or 0.15% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 70.5 points, or 0.67%.
FAANG group of stocks — Facebook Inc (FB.O), Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O), Apple Inc (AAPL.O), Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) and Google-parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) — which were pivotal in driving the stock market’s recovery in recent months, slipped between 1.0% and 1.4% on Friday.
Of the 113 S&P 500 companies that have reported quarterly results, 77% of them have beaten dramatically lowered profit estimates, according to IBES Refinitiv data.
Investors will be keeping an eye on earnings reports from oilfield services provider Schlumberger NV (SLB.N), credit card issuer American Express Co (AXP.N) and wireless carrier Verizon Communications (VZ.N).
On the economic calendar, Markit manufacturing and services PMI surveys are due at 9:45 a.m. ET, while new home sales data is expected at 10 a.m. ET.
