Investing.com - U.S. futures pointed to a lower opening for stocks on Friday, after China’s state-run media expressed frustration at the course of trade negotiations with the U.S.
It is "meaningless" for officials to meet without the U.S. showing it is sincere, according to Taoran Notes, a WeChat blog run by the state-owned Economic Daily, seen as a mouthpiece for government opinion.
The toughening rhetoric from China, which contrast with its earlier optimism regarding a resolution of the trade dispute, is forcing investors to come to terms with heightening tension between the two largest economies in the world.
It follows the exclusion of telecom equipment giant Huawei from the U.S. market on Wednesday by executive order. Elsewhere, it was reported that Chinese buyers staged an effective boycott of U.S. pork last week, despite a shortage of meat in their own country due to a devastating outbreak of swine fever.
Dow futures slumped 123 points or 0.5% by 6:40 AM ET (10:40 GMT), while S&P 500 futures was down 14 points or 0.5%. Tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures lost 48 points or 0.6%.
Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) was among the top gainers in premarket trading, after its earnings for the first-quarter beat the consensus, although sales in its gaming segment fell.
Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) fell 0.7% in premarket trading on news that it is investing in U.K. food delivery company Deliveroo, while Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) slumped 14.8% after its first earnings report since going public failed to meet forecasts. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (NYSE:FCAU) fell 1% and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) was down 0.7%.
Elsewhere, Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) gained 5.4% after a better-than-expected first quarter.
On the economic front, consumer sentiment numbers come out at 10:00 AM ET (14:00 GMT), while Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida is set to speak, followed by New York Fed President John Williams and Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan later in the day.
In commodities, crude oil surged 1.2% to $62.63 a barrel over fears of conflict between the U.S. and Iran, while gold futures fell 0.1% to $1,285.05 a troy ounce. The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, rose 0.1% to 97.720.