By Sam Meredith, CNBC–
U.S. stock index futures fell Friday amid jitters sparked by the Federal Reserve‘s cautious outlook for the world’s largest economy.
At around 5:50 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were down 130 points, indicating a decline of more than 100 points at the open. Futures on the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 were seen mixed.
Nike shares also pressured stock futures. The athletic apparel company’s stock dropped 4.2 percent on the back of weak quarterly sales growth in North America.
The U.S. central bank surprised investors by adopting a sharp dovish stance on Wednesday, projecting no further interest rate hikes this year and ending its balance sheet roll-offs.
Market sentiment was boosted by the Fed’s updated outlook on interest rates, but the reasons behind it caused some concern.
In Europe, the German 10-year bund yield dipped into negative territory for the first time since 2016 after the release of disappointing German manufacturing data. IHS Markit said Friday that manufacturing activity in Germany dropped to its lowest level in more than six years in March.
A U.S. trade delegation, headed by Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, will visit China for a two-day meeting at the end of next week.
Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is then expected to travel to Washington in early April.
A long-running trade dispute between the world’s two largest economies has battered financial markets in recent months, souring business and consumer sentiment.
On the data front, manufacturing and services PMI data for March is due at around 9:45 a.m. ET. Wholesale trade figures for January and existing home sales for February will be released shortly afterwards, with the latest monthly federal budget data due at 2 p.m. ET.
Meanwhile, Tiffany is expected to publish its latest quarterly results shortly before the opening bell.
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