Futures Suggests Wall Street To Open Lower

(RTTNews) - Early signs from the U.S. Futures Index suggest that Wall Street might open lower on Friday. Asian shares finished broadly down, while European shares are trading in negative territory.

As of 7.25 am ET, the Dow futures were declining 223.00 points, the S&P 500 futures were sliding 53.75 points and the Nasdaq 100 futures were down 316.75 points.

The U.S. major averages ended lower on Thursday. The Nasdaq plummeted 536.10 points or 2.3 percent to 22,870.36, the S&P 500 plunged 113.43 points or 1.7 percent to 6,737.49 and the Dow tumbled 797.60 points or 1.7 percent to 47,457.22.

On the economic front, the PPI-Final Demand for October will be issued at 8.30 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.3 percent.

The Commerce Department's Retail Sales will be issued at 8.30 am ET.

The Commerce Department's Business Inventories for September will be released at 10.00 am ET. The consensus is for an increase of 0.2 percent.

The Energy Information Administration or EIA's Natural Gas Report for the week will be published at 10.30 am ET. In the prior week, the gas stock was up 33 bcf.

The Baker Hughes Rig Count for the week will be revealed at 1.00 pm ET. In the prior week, the North America rig count was 739, while the U.S. rig count was 548.

Kansas City Fed President Jeffrey Schmid will speak on monetary policy and the economic outlook before hybrid 'Energy and the Economy: The Geography of Energy Flows' conference hosted by the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City at 10.05 am ET.

Dallas Fed President Lorie Logan will participate in fireside chat before hybrid 'Energy and the Economy: The Geography of Energy Flows' conference hosted by the Denver branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City at 2.30 pm ET.

Atlanta Fed President Raphael Bostic will participate in moderated conversation before the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management annual conference at 3.20 pm ET.

Asian stocks finished lower on Friday. China's Shanghai Composite index fell 0.97 percent to 3,990.49 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.85 percent to 26,572.46.

Japanese markets fell sharply. The Nikkei average tumbled 1.77 percent to 50,376.53 while the broader Topix index settled 0.65 percent lower at 3,359.81.

Australian markets hit a new four-month low. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.36 percent to 8,634.50. The broader All Ordinaries Index dropped 1.41 percent to 8,907.

European shares are trading lower. Among the major indexes in the region, the CAC 40 Index of France is declining 117.75 points or 1.43 percent. The German DAX is falling 401.20 points or 1.67 percent, the U.K. FTSE 100 Index is sliding 170.59 points or 1.74 percent. The Swiss Market Index is dwindles 157.28 points or 1.23 percent.

The Euro Stoxx 50 Index, which is a compilation of 50 blue chip stocks across the euro area, is down 104.61 points or 1.87 percent percent.