By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Approval for airstrikes in Iraq weighs on investors
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Wall Street looked headed for a rough
start Friday, with U.S. stock futures pulled lower as geopolitical
tensions prompted investors to back away from risk assets.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJU4) fell 62
points, or 0.4%, to 16,262, while those for the S&P 500 index
(SPU4) lost 8.1 points, or 0.4%, to 1,897.10. The Nasdaq 100 index
(NDU4) gave up 19 points, or 0.5%, to 3,837.50.
Data on business productivity are due, but the mix of U.S.
authorized airstrikes in Iraq and an escalating trade war between
Russia and the West will likely dominate the direction of
trading.
"This all paints a rather bleak picture for the open on Wall
Street," with the S&P 500 index (SPX) "tipped to kick off the
day below the 1,900 mark, and that'll be the first time we've been
down here since the latter part of May," said Joao Monteiro,
analyst at Valutrades, in a note.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) could race out of the
gate with a triple-digit loss, he said.
U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday authorized targeted
airstrikes and emergency-assistance missions in northern Iraq.
Obama said the U.S. must protect American personnel and prevent a
humanitarian catastrophe against violent Islamist forces.
Investors sought safety in the Japanese yen (USDJPY), and that
push higher for the currency led to a 3% dive in Japanese stocks
overnight.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday hit back
on sanctions against countries that placed restrictions on his
country, as Russia and the West tussle over the Kremlin's support
of separatist forces in Ukraine.
In the Middle East, Israel said Hamas had violated a 72-hour
cease-fire and ordered the military to resume fire in the Gaza
Strip.
Productivity, stocks to watch
On the data front, a report on labor market productivity in the
second quarter is scheduled for an 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time release.
Productivity at U.S. businesses is likely to modestly rebound after
a sharp decline in the first three months of the year. Economists
polled by MarketWatch expect the Labor Department to report a 1.7%
gain in productivity.
A report on wholesale inventories in June is on deck for 10 a.m.
Eastern Time from the Commerce Department. Inventories in May rose
by 0.5%.
Stocks that may be active on Friday include Gap (GPS) after the
apparel retailer's same-store sales increased 2% in July, beating
analysts' expectations of a 0.1% rise.
Tesla (TSLA) shares dropped 1% premarket after Pacific Crest
securities puta $316 price target on the electric-car maker.
Zynga shares (ZNGA) fell 7.5% in premarket trade after the
online social-gaming company late Thursday said its second-quarter
loss widened to $62.5 million, or 7 cents a share.
In the commodities market, oil (CLU4) futures rose above $98 a
barrel, and gold futures (GCZ4) advanced about $5 an ounce.
European stocks slumped as geopolitical tensions in Iraq and
Russia took their toll on investors.
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