It's shaping up to be a rough end to the week for Wall Street. U.S. stock futures are pointing to a lower open on Friday, with the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq 100 all in the red. The sell-off follows a tough Thursday session where the Nasdaq 100 dropped 1.62%, led by a rout in tech stocks. Micron Technology (MU) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) each fell more than 5%.
But here's the interesting part: while markets are sliding, President Donald Trump took to the airwaves Thursday night for an impromptu primetime address to talk up the economy. He declared that the U.S. is enjoying "unprecedented global investment" and has become "the hottest country anywhere in the world." He asserted the nation is doing "great" with historic employment figures. It's a classic case of the White House and Wall Street seeing different movies.
Meanwhile, bond yields are holding steady. The 10-year Treasury is yielding 4.53%, and the two-year is at 4.12%. According to the CME Group's FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in an 89.8% chance that the Federal Reserve will leave interest rates unchanged at its July meeting. So no rate cuts anytime soon.
Here's a quick look at where the major index futures stand as of early Friday:
The ETFs that track these indexes are also feeling the heat. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is down 0.94% in premarket at $743.70, while the Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (QQQ) is off 1.99% at $691.92.
Stocks In Focus
Netflix
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) is getting hammered in premarket, tumbling 8.92% after reporting mixed second-quarter results on Thursday and issuing weak guidance for the third quarter. The streaming giant's subscriber growth may have slowed, and investors are not happy. MarketDash's Edge Stock Rankings show that NFLX has a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms, though it does have a solid quality score.
Intuitive Surgical
Intuitive Surgical Inc. (ISRG) is down 9.28% in premarket, even though the company posted better-than-expected second-quarter results after Thursday's close. Sometimes good news isn't enough. The stock's price trend is weak across all timeframes, but it does have a good growth score, according to MarketDash's Edge Stock Rankings.
Nebius Group
Nebius Group NV (NBIS) is off 4.09% as investors digest the company's new asset-light data center partnership model. The lack of detailed information on partners and financial projections is raising questions. MarketDash's Edge Stock Rankings show a weak short-term price trend but strong long- and medium-term trends, though the value ranking is poor.
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola Co. (KO) is bucking the trend, up 0.68% despite disclosing a ransomware attack on its Fairlife subsidiary. The beverage giant has activated its response plan, and investors seem to be taking it in stride. MarketDash's Edge Stock Rankings indicate a strong price trend across all timeframes and a good growth score.
CoreWeave
CoreWeave Inc. (CRWV) is down 3.98% after news that CEO Michael Intrator sold $24.8 million in stock and CFO Nitin Agrawal disposed of 65,055 Class A shares valued at $5.5 million on July 14 and July 13, respectively. Insider selling always raises eyebrows. MarketDash's Edge Stock Rankings show a weak price trend in the short, long, and medium terms.
Cues From Last Session
Thursday's session was a mixed bag. Consumer staples, health care, and real estate stocks posted gains, but communication services and information technology dragged the market lower. Here's how the major indexes finished:
Insights From Analysts
Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, has a positive outlook on the economy and corporate profits, but he warns that this earnings season is a high-wire act. "The big question during this earnings reporting season is whether or not companies can outperform very high expectations," he says.
Because institutional investors are focused on unofficial "whisper numbers," Wren cautions that "simply beating consensus estimates… may no longer be enough to result in positive near-term stock performance." He expects heightened volatility and severe punishment for companies that disappoint. In other words, "good results may not be good enough."
Despite the short-term risks, Wren remains optimistic about the broader U.S. economy and advises that "downside volatility during earnings reporting season might provide attractive entry points in our favored sectors," particularly Technology and Financials.
Upcoming Economic Data
Here's what's on the docket for Friday:
- June Housing Starts and June Import Prices at 8:30 a.m. ET.
- June Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization at 9:15 a.m. ET.
- July preliminary University of Michigan Consumer Survey at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Commodities, Crypto, And Global Equity Markets
Crude oil WTI futures are trading lower, down 0.46% to around $79.31 per barrel. Gold is up 0.40% at $3,992.39 per ounce, while the U.S. Dollar Index is flat, down 0.05% at 100.708.
Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) is down 1.84% over the last 24 hours, trading at $62,737.56 per coin.
Asian markets closed mostly lower on Friday, with only India's Nifty 50 managing a gain. Hong Kong's Hang Seng, China's CSI 300, Australia's ASX 200, South Korea's Kospi, and Japan's Nikkei 225 all fell. European markets are also mostly lower in early trade.
It's a cautious day out there. Keep an eye on those economic data releases and earnings reports — they could set the tone for next week.
