(By Balachander) U.S. stock index futures pointed to a lower open on the Wall Street after weaker-than-expected Chinese export and import data pointed to a slowing economy.
Mini Dow Industrial Average futures dropped 52 points to 13,086. The Nasdaq futures lost 8.50 points to 2,709.25. Standard and Poor's 500 futures fell 6.00 points to 1,394.60.
A data from the General Administration of Customs (GAC) showed Chinese exports increased a slower rate, up just 1 percent versus a growth of 11.3 percent in June and well below economists expectations of a gain of 8 percent. Imports rose 4.7 percent compared with a gain of 6.3 percent in June, falling short of expectations of 7 percent growth.
On the U.S. economic front, a government data showed that import prices fell 0.6 percent while export prices increased 0.5 percent in July, while economists expected import and export prices to drop 0.2 percent and 0.1 percent, respectively. In June, import prices and export prices declined 2.4 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.
The Treasury Budget due at 2 p.m. ET may show a deficit of $103 billion for July versus a deficit of $60.0 billion for June.
On Thursday, U.S. stocks ended on a flat note for the second straight day as investors weighed Chinese inflation data and domestic reports on the labor and trade market.
Hot Stocks Of The Day: YHOO, RIMM, JCP, NVDA, FIO, MNST, DV, ELX, JWN
In corporate news, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) lost 3.87 percent in premarket. According to media reports, the ailing Internet company may reverse its plans to restructure operations and return proceeds to shareholders as part of a strategy review.
J.C. Penney Co Inc. (NYSE:JCP) slipped to a quarterly loss as sales plunged and margins contracted sharply as it reconsidered its approach to pricing. Shares of department store chain fell 2.06 percent in premarket trading on Friday.
NVIDIA Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) jumped 4.55 percent in premarket after the graphics and mobile chip maker guided third-quarter revenue above market expectations following its second quarter results. Quarterly revenue rose about 3 percent to $1.04 billion, topping Wall Street projections of $1.01 billion.
Research In Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ:RIMM) gained 5.77 percent in premarket. Bloomberg reported that International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) has considered acquiring RIM's enterprise-services unit, citing people familiar with the situation.
Fusion-IO Inc. (NYSE:FIO) soared 22.45 percent after the Utah-based developer of storage memory platforms issued an upbeat revenue growth forecast for fiscal 2013.
Monster Beverage Corp. (NASDAQ:MNST) lost 4.23 percent after the energy drink maker disclosed that it was being probed of advertising practices by an unspecified attorney general.
Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) may be in focus after fashion specialty retailer posted a 11 percent decline in quarterly earnings due to shift in timing of the Anniversary Sale event as well as higher costs and expenses. Earnings exceeded Wall Street expectations, while revenue missed consensus.
DeVry Inc. (NYSE:DV) retreated 3.88 percent in premarket after the Illinois-based educational services company posted a sharp drop in fourth-quarter earnings as revenue fell 7.5 percent.
Emulex Corp. (NYSE:ELX) lost 10.00 percent in premarket after the California-based networking services company offered a downbeat forecast for the first quarter.
Global Markets:
European markets fell, with Germany's DAX off 0.88 percent to trade at 6,903.86. France's CAC40 dropped 1.09 percent to 3,418.93. U.K.'s FTSE 100 fell 0.34 percent to trade at 5,831.53.
Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index shed 0.24 percent to finish at 2,168.81. Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 0.97 percent to end at 8,891.44. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.66 percent to end at 20,136.12. India's BSE Sensex finished at 17,557.74, down 0.02 percent.
Market Scan:
Ahead of the opening bell, crude oil futures declined 1.64 percent to $91.83 per barrel. Gold futures lost 0.63 percent to $1,610.0 per ounce.
In the currency market, the euro shed 0.29 percent against the U.S. dollar to 1.2270 and the British pound slipped 0.28 percent against the greenback to 1.5594. The dollar lost 0.40 percent against the Japanese yen to 78.2400.