Stocks are likely to move to the downside in early trading on Friday, adding to the modest losses posted during Thursday's choppy session. The major index futures are currently pointing to a lower open for the markets, with the S&P 500 futures down by 0.4 percent.
The downward momentum on Wall Street comes amid ongoing concerns about the economic outlook along with rising geopolitical tensions and uncertainty about the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
A steep drop by shares of FedEx (FDX) is also likely to weigh on the markets, with the delivery giant plunging by 9.0 percent in pre-market trading.
The slump by FedEx comes after the company reported slightly weaker than expected fiscal third quarter earnings and lowered its full-year earnings guidance due to "continued weakness and uncertainty in the U.S. industrial economy."
Shares of Nike (NKE) are also tumbling by 7.1 percent in pre-market trading after the athletic apparel and footwear giant reported fiscal third quarter results that beat estimates but forecast a decrease in sales in the current quarter.
Chipmaker Micron Technology (MU) is also seeing notable pre-market weakness even though the company reported better than expected fiscal second quarter results and provided upbeat guidance.
Overall trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, with a lack of major U.S. economic data likely to keep some traders on the sidelines.
After recovering from an initial move to the downside, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Thursday. The major averages swung back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing modestly lower.
The Nasdaq fell 59.16 points or 0.3 percent to 17,691.63 and the S&P 500 dipped 12.40 points or 0.2 percent to 5,662.89, while the narrower Dow posted an even more modest loss, edging down 11.31 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 41,953.32.
In overseas trading, stock markets across the Asia-Pacific ended mixed on Friday. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index plunged by 2.2 percent and China's Shanghai Composite Index slumped by 1.2 percent, while stocks in Japan, South Korea and Australia moved modestly higher.
Meanwhile, the major European markets have all moved to the downside on the day. While the German DAX Index is down by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index is down by 0.7 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.6 percent.
In commodities trading, crude oil futures are edging down $0.04 to $68.03 a barrel after jumping $1.16 to $68.07 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after inching up $2.60 to $3,043.80 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are slipping $2 to $3,041.80 an ounce.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 148.67 yen versus the 148.78 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.0842 compared to yesterday's $1.0851.
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