U.S. stock index futures fell Friday morning as traders looked to the release of key inflation data. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell by 141 points, or 0.4%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures slid 0.5% and 0.9%, respectively. The core personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed’s preferred measurement of inflation, is slated for release at 8:30 a.m. ET. Economists expect a 0.5% month over month gain, according to Dow Jones. Investors are also awaiting the January data on personal income and consumer spending will have further insight into the U.S. consumer; both figures are due out Friday before the bell. Personal income is expected to have risen 1.2% last month, according to Dow Jones consensus estimates. That’s up from an increase of 0.2% the prior month. Consumer spending is forecasted to rise 1.4% in January, up from a decline of 0.2% the prior month. Boeing shares slipped more than 2% after the company temporarily halted delivery of its 787 Dreamliners over a fuselage issue. During Thursday’s session, the S&P 500 advanced 0.53%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 108.82 points, or 0.33%, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.72%. Even so, the major averages are headed for a losing week. The S&P 500 is down 1.64% through Thursday, and is set for its worst week since Dec. 16. The Dow is down nearly 1.99% this week, and headed for its fourth straight losing week. The Nasdaq is 1.67% lower, and on pace for its second negative week in three. Investors continue to worry about the pace of future interest rate hikes in the face of contradictory economic signals. While inflation remains persistently high, the U.S. consumer has continued to show strength. “We’re still looking down the barrel of a gun that has not come to grips with what the consumer may or may not have strength for for the rest of the year, and what earnings are going to do for the rest of the year. And I think the equity market is being overly optimistic,” SoFi’s Liz Young said Thursday on CNBC’s “Halftime Report.” Asia-Pacific markets traded mixed on Friday as the nominee to lead the Bank of Japan Kazuo Ueda spoke at a confirmation hearing. The Nikkei 225 ended Friday 1.29% higher at 27,452.48, and the Topix climbed 0.67%. Japan’s core inflation in January rose 4.2%, the highest since 1981. In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.3% to close at 7,307. South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.63% to end at 2,423.61, while the Kosdaq finshed down 0.56% at 778.88. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was down1.56%, and the Hang Seng Tech Index dropped 3.11%. In mainland China, the Shenzhen Component fell 0.82%, ending Friday at 11,787.45 and the Shanghai Composite was 0.62% lower to end at 3,267.16. Oil prices extended gains for a second session on Friday as the prospect of lower exports from Russia offset rising inventories in the United States and concerns over global economic activity. Brent crude futures rose 45 cents, or 0.6%, to $82.66 per barrel. On the anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, benchmark Brent crude prices were some 14% lower than a year earlier. They hit a 14-year high of nearly $128 a barrel on Mar. 8, 2022. West Texas Intermediate U.S. crude futures (WTI) were up 38 cents, or 0.5%, to $75.77.
Roodeweg 222, Willemstad, Curaçao