Stocks set to open lower
Wall Street looks set for a negative start on Friday after the Chinese government ordered the U.S. to shut its consulate in Chengdu, in response to a similar action from Washington as tensions flared between the two economic giants.
China ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in the city of Chengdu, in a tit-for-tat retaliation to Washington’s ordering Beijing this week to shut its consulate in Houston.
“This is a legitimate & necessary response to the unilateral provocative move by the US to demand the closure of China’s Consulate General in Houston,” China’s foreign ministry spokesperson tweeted early Friday.
U.S.-China relations have deteriorated in recent months over several issues, including Beijing’s business and trade practices, its clampdown in Hong Kong, its territorial claims in the South China Sea and the coronavirus pandemic.
As of 5:20 a.m. ET, the blue-chip Dow futures indicated a loss of 109 points, or 0.41% to 26,434. The S&P 500 futures fell 12.62 points, or 0.39% to 3,214.88 while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures shed 115.13 points, or 1.09% to 10,433.12.
Intel shares slump after warning of a production delay
Meanwhile, Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) tumbled in Friday’s pre-market trading session after the company warned shareholders that its new 7-nanometer processor will be delayed by about six months, adding it may be forced to rely on a third party to manufacture it as a contingency plan.
“We have identified a defect mode in our 7-nanometer process that resulted in yield degradation. We’ve root-caused the issue and believe there are no fundamental roadblocks, but we have also invested in contingency plans to hedge against further schedule uncertainty,” Intel CEO Bob Swan said during the company’s earnings call on Thursday evening.
The semiconductor maker said it earned $1.23 per share on revenue of $19.7 billion in its fiscal second quarter. Analysts expected the company to report earnings of $1.10 per share on revenue of $18.55 billion.
At the time of writing, Intel stock was down 11.75%, or $7.1 to $53.30 a share.
Verizon, American Express, and Honeywell quarterly numbers on tap
Today, traders are awaiting from Verizon (NYSE: VZ) ahead of the opening bell. The company is seen reporting earnings of $1.12 per share on $29.8 billion in revenue. Shares of the telco were little changed in the pre-market trading session.
American Express (NYSE: AXP) will also announce its results before the market open. Analysts expect the company to post a loss of 5 cents per share on $8.24 billion in revenue, compared to earnings of $2.07 per share and revenue of $10.8 billion in the prior-year period.
Other notable earnings to watch today include Honeywell International (NYSE: HON), NextEra Energy (NYSE: NEE), and Schlumberger (NYSE: SLB).
