While world shares were mixed on Friday after an official survey showed Chinese factory activity weakening in May on slowing export orders, U.S. futures were little changed and oil prices slipped ahead of an OPEC meeting this weekend, according to an Associated Press report.
Technology-related shares saw some of the biggest declines after Nvidia, recently a market favorite thanks to Wall Street’s frenzy over artificial-intelligence technology, sank 3.8% on Thursday.
The future for the S&P 500 was 0.1% lower while that for the Dow Jones Industrial Average was virtually unchanged.
Friday will bring a monthly update on a gauge of inflation that the Federal Reserve prefers to use. The tail end of earnings reporting is another driver for the market. Profits have largely been better than expected for the start of 2024.
Nvidia’s loss helped pull the Nasdaq composite down 1.1%, while the S&P 500 sank 0.6% even though the majority of stocks within the index and across Wall Street were higher. The Dow dropped 0.9%.
But stocks broadly got a boost from easing Treasury yields, providing relief after they had climbed earlier this week on worries about tepid demand for Treasury bonds following several U.S. government auctions. Higher yields put downward pressure on all kinds of investments.
Yields fell Thursday after a couple reports showed the U.S. economy isn’t quite as strong as expected.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 4.572% after falling to 4.54% late Thursday. .
In other dealings early Friday, U.S. benchmark crude oil lost 10 cents to $77.81 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude oil, the international standard, shed 2 cents to $81.86 per barrel.
The U.S. dollar rose to 157.20 Japanese yen from 156.82 yen.
