U.S. Stocks May Lack Direction Ahead Of Trump-Putin Meeting

(RTTNews) - The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a roughly flat open for the markets on Friday, with stocks likely to extend the lackluster performance seen over the course of the previous session.

Traders may be reluctant to make significant moves as they keep an eye on a highly-anticipated meeting between President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

Trump and Putin are scheduled to meet in Alaska later today to discuss ending the drawn out war in Ukraine, although the outcome of the summit may not be known until after the close of trading.

The futures remained little changed following the release of a batch of U.S. economic data, including a Commerce Department showing retail sales increased in line with economist estimates in the month of July.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent in July after jumping by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in June.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in July after growing by 0.8 percent in June. The increase in ex-auto sales also matched expectations.

A separate report released by the Labor Department showed import prices in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of July.

After recovering from an early move to the downside, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading session on Thursday. The major averages spent the day bouncing back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.

While the S&P 500 crept up 1.96 points or less than a tenth of a percent to a new record closing high of 6,468.54, the Nasdaq edged down 2.47 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 21,710.67 and the Dow slipped 11.01 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 44,911.26.

The early weakness on Wall Street came following the release of a Labor Department report showing producer prices in the U.S. increased by much more than expected in the month of July.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand shot up by 0.9 percent in July after coming in unchanged in June. Economists had expected producer prices to rise by 0.2 percent.

The report also showed a substantial acceleration by the annual rate of producer price growth, which surged to 3.3 percent in July from an upwardly revised 2.4 percent in June.

Economists had expected the annual rate of producer price growth to increase to 2.5 percent from the 2.3 percent originally reported for the previous month.

The hotter-than-expected producer price inflation data partly offset optimism about a September interest rate cut generated by the consumer price inflation data released earlier this week.

However, CME Group's FedWatch Tool is currently still indicating a 92.6 percent chance the Federal Reserve will lower rates by a quarter point next month, which helped keep selling pressure relatively subdued.

The Labor Department also released a separate report unexpectedly showing a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 9th.

The report said initial jobless claims dipped to 224,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week's revised level of 227,000.

Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 228,000 from the 226,000 originally reported for the previous week.

Despite the lackluster performance by the broader markets, networking stocks saw significant weakness, with the NYSE Arca Networking Index tumbling by 2.4 percent after ending the previous session at a record closing high.

Considerable weakness was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 2.1 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index.

Steel, airline and housing stocks have also shown notable moves to the downside, while pharmaceutical, retail and banking stocks some strength on the day.

Commodity, Currency Markets

Crude oil futures are falling $0.42 to $63.54 a barrel after surging $1.31 to $63.96 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after sliding $25.10 to $3,383.20 an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are inching up $3 to $3,386.20 an ounce.

On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 146.91 yen versus the 147.76 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1692 compared to yesterday's $1.1648.

Asia

Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Friday as investors reacted to mixed economic data from China and Japan and awaited the outcome of the Alaska summit between the U.S. and Russian Presidents.

China's Shanghai Composite Index advanced 0.8 percent to 3,696.77 amid government efforts to boost liquidity in the banking system.

China's central bank on Thursday said that it would conduct 500 billion yuan ($69 billion) of outright reverse repos in an attempt to maintain an appropriately accommodative liquidity environment.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index slid 1.0 percent to 25,270.07, dropping for a second straight session as a slew of economic data from China showed a slowdown across the country's economy last month.

Chinese factory output growth slumped to an eight-month low in July and retail sales growth slowed sharply, highlighting demand woes at home.

Fixed asset investment grew just 1.6 percent in the first seven months of the year from the same period last year and new-home prices fell at a faster pace in July, raising worries of a deepening downturn.

Japanese markets rose sharply to close at a record high as the yen weakened and second quarter GDP data beat forecasts. The Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.7 percent to 43,378.31, while the broader Topix Index closed up 1.6 percent at 3,107.68.

Expectations of higher interest rates boosted banks, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial surging 6 percent to extend gains for an eighth consecutive session and hit a record high.

Seoul stocks ended on a flat note, with the Kospi finishing marginally higher at 3,225.66 ahead of the high-stakes U.S.-Russia summit on Ukraine.

Australian markets rose notably to close at a record high on the back of strong earnings from major companies and rate cut optimism.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 0.7 percent to 8,938.60, while the broader All Ordinaries Index settled 0.7 percent higher at 9,212.10.

Among the top gainers, energy firm Ampol jumped 7.7 percent to log its highest close since February 3 and lithium miner Liontown Resources added 5.6 percent.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX-50 Index rose 0.4 percent to 12,889.38, extending gains for a third straight session after a survey showed manufacturing activity in the country expanded in July.

Gold ticked higher in Asian trading as the dollar failed to sustain its recovery from the previous session. Oil prices fell as disappointing U.S. and Chinese economic data raised worries about fuel demand.

Europe

European stocks are turning in a mixed performance on Friday as traders await the outcome of the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.

While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.1 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 0.1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is up by 0.6 percent.

German chipmaker Infineon Technologies rose 1.2 percent after completing the acquisition of Marvell Technology Inc.'s Automotive Ethernet business.

Sea1 Offshore shares plunged 7 percent. The Norwegian operator of high-end offshore support vessels reported disappointing second quarter results, impacted by the sales of nine vessels.

Danish jewelry giant Pandora plummeted 13 percent after the company flagged weakening sales in its key European markets.

Power cable solutions provider NKT soared 7.8 percent after posting record operational earnings in the second quarter and lifting its 2025 outlook.

Semiconductor equipment specialist ASML fell 1.2 percent after -Applied Materials forecast fourth-quarter revenue and profit below estimates.

U.S. Economic News

A report released by the Commerce Department on Friday showed retail sales in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of July.

The Commerce Department said retail sales climbed by 0.5 percent in July after jumping by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in June.

Economists had expected retail sales to rise by 0.5 percent compared to the 0.6 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

Excluding sales by motor vehicle and parts dealers, retail sales rose by 0.3 percent in July after growing by 0.8 percent in June. The increase in ex-auto sales also matched expectations.

The Labor Department released a report on Friday showing import prices in the U.S. increased by more than expected in the month of July.

The report said import prices climbed by 0.4 percent in July after a downwardly revised 0.1 percent dip in June.

Economists had expected import prices to inch up by 0.1 percent, matching the 0.1 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said export prices crept up by 0.1 percent in July after rising by 0.5 percent in June. The modest increase matched economist estimates.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released a report on Friday showing regional manufacturing activity unexpectedly grew at a faster rate in the month of August.

The New York Fed said its general business conditions index climbed to 11.9 in August from 5.5 in July, with a positive reading indicating growth. Economists had expected the index to fall to 0.5.

With the unexpected increase, the general business conditions index reached its highest level since hitting 20.2 in November 2024.

Looking ahead, the New York Fed said firms continue to expect conditions to improve in the months ahead, although optimism has diminished compared to last month.

At 9:15 am ET, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release its report on industrial production in the month of July. Industrial production is expected to come in unchanged in July after rising by 0.3 percent in June.

The University of Michigan is due to release its preliminary reading on consumer sentiment in the month of August at 10 am ET. The consumer sentiment index is expected to inch up to 62.0 in August climbing to 61.7 in July.

Also at 10 am ET, the Commerce Department is scheduled to release its report on business inventories in the month of June. Business inventories are expected to rise by 0.2 percent in June after coming in unchanged in May.