Verdence Capital Advisors director Megan Horneman weighs in on international market strength.<\/p>\n
U.S. stock futures were lower Friday morning, putting the Dow Jones Industrial Average on track for a fifth day of losses. <\/p>\n
Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 216 points, or 0.64%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures slipped 0.03% and 0.28%, respectively. <\/p>\n
The choppy session comes as the yield on the 10-year note slipped below 1.5% and was contending with its lowest levels since early March.<\/p>\n
Growth stocks including Tesla Inc. and Square Inc., which typically benefit from lower interest rates, were not seeing their usual boost. <\/p>\n
At the same time, bank stocks like Bank of America Corp. and JPMorgan Chase & Co were weaker as lower interest rates reduce their net interest margins. <\/p>\n
Elsewhere, chipmakers including Nvidia Corp., Micron Technology Inc. and Intel Corp. were mixed after a bipartisan group of U.S. senators proposed a 25% tax credit for investments in semiconductor manufacturing. U.S. chip production has fallen sharply in recent years to 12% of global output, down from 37% in 1990. <\/p>\n
In deals, container leasing and management company CAI International Inc. has agreed to be taken over by Japan’s Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc. for $1.1 billion, or $56 per share. The price represents a 47% premium to where shares closed on Thursday. <\/p>\n
Online marketplace Ebay Inc. and Norway’s Adevinta were granted regulatory approval for the approximately $13 billion deal for the former’s classified ads business. EBay will receive $2.5 billion in cash and 540 million Adevinta shares. <\/p>\n
In earnings, Adobe Inc. beat on both the top and bottom line as quarterly profit rose 23% year over year. The software maker forecast earnings for the current quarter that were ahead of expectations. <\/p>\n
Gun-maker Smith & Wesson Brands Inc. reported sales soared 67% from a year ago to a record of almost $323 million. The company raised its quarterly dividend by 60% to 8 cents per share and announced a new $50 million share buyback program. <\/p>\n
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slid 39 cents to $70.65 a barrel and gold rallied $17.10 to $1,791.90 an ounce. <\/p>\n