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U.S. stock futures slumped on Friday, as chipmaker Intel’s disastrous outlook and Amazon.com’s caution added further worry to investors already concerned about the U.S. economy.
Following a nearly 500-point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Dow futures slumped 245 points, as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 contracts also were sharply lower.
Nonfarm payrolls data set for release at 8:30 a.m. Eastern could yet turn around sentiment, especially considering how whipsawed markets have been this week. But markets have been in a funk since the release of the ISM manufacturing report.
Intel missed badly on its earnings as it said it was cutting its dividend and shedding 15% of its jobs. Amazon also beat on second-quarter results but guided for sales and profits in the current quarter below expectations. Apple was the highlight of the megacap tech results as it beat sales growth expectations.
“The past 24 hours have seen an increasingly precarious backdrop for risk markets, with a risk-off mood on the back of another batch of weak U.S. data yesterday followed by mostly downbeat tech earnings overnight,” said Jim Reid, strategist at Deutsche Bank.
Even the suddenly resurgent small-caps — which should benefit if the Fed aggressively cuts interest rates — take a dive.
