(By Salman - iStockAnalyst Writer)US stock futures retreated on Friday ahead of key consumer confidence data. Stocks also came under pressure as crude oil retreated from seven month high.
At 8:27 am ET, Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures fell 3.70 points to 934.50. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures decreased 20 points to 8679. Nasdaq Composite Index futures retreated 1.75 points to 1489.
According to the
Labor Department, prices paid for goods and services imported into the United States jumped 1.3% in May due to higher crude oil prices.
Late on Thursday,
BlackRock Inc. (
NYSE: BLK) agreed to buy
Barclays Global Investors in a $13.5 billion cash-and-shares deal that will create the world's biggest asset manager.
Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that
Microsoft Corp. (
NASDAQ: MSFT) won't offer a Web browser in its next version of Windows in Europe.
Life insurer
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. (
NYSE: HIG) announced on Friday that it plans to sell up to $750 million in common stock and that it's going to participate in the U.S. Treasury's Capital Purchase Program, subject to completion of documentation with the U.S. Treasury.
National Semiconductor Corp. (
NYSE: NSM) on Thursday reported that it swung to fiscal fourth quarter loss of $63.7 million, or 28 cents a share, compared to $83.2 million, or 34 cents a share, in the year ago period. Revenue plunged to $281 million from $462 million.
British banking giant
HSBC Holdings (
NYSE: HBC) said Friday that it has sold its 49% stake in HSBC Merchant Services to its partner in the card processing joint venture Global Payments Inc. for $307.7 million.
Yahoo! Inc. (
NASDAQ: YHOO) on Thursday named longtime
General Electric Co. (
NYSE: GE) veteran Tim Morse as its new chief financial officer.
On the economic front,
Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index data for the month of April is due for release at 09:55 am ET.
US stocks settled higher on Thursday as surging crude oil prices boosted energy stocks. Stocks also rose as better than expected economic data lifted optimism.
European stocks retreated in afternoon trade. At 13:02 pm London time, the UK FTSE fell 21.54 points or 0.48% to 4,440.33. The German DAX and French CAC decreased 0.66% and 0.31% respectively.
Asian stocks finished with gains. The Nikkei 225 rose 154.49 points or 1.55% to 10,135.82. The Hang Seng index of Hong Kong added 98.65 points or 0.52% to end at 18,889.83.
NYMEX Crude oil for June delivery declined as much as 97 cents or 1.4% to $72.30 a barrel in electronic trade.
Disclosure: Author does not own any of the stocks discussed here
