Sept 17 Reuters : U.S. stock indexes were set for a weaker open on Friday, as lower yields for government bonds following an unexpected rebound in retail sales this week pointed to more movement out of heavyweight technology stocks.
FAANG stocks, including Apple Inc and Alphabet Inc some of the largest tech names in Wall Street, rose slightly in premarket trading, while the yields on the benchmark 10 - year notes fell slightly.
It was a volatile week and a return to value outperformance as 'buy the dip' sentiments took hold, but not enough to get rid of recent market weakness, said Federated Hermes, global equities portfolio manager at the international business of Louise Dudley.
Also, focus is on an investment meeting with investors this week where investors debating if a swath of strong economic data could spur the Fed into shortening its forecast for reducing monetary stimulus.
The retail sales reading came on the heels of steady factory activity and low inflation which suggested the U.S economic recovery was resilient despite a recent rise in cases of Delta COVID - 19 variant.
Losses in major technology stocks pulled the S&P 500 lower on Thursday after a hike in bond yields saw investors pivot into sectors that most likely would benefit from an economic recovery this year.
U.S. S&P 500 E-minis were down 9.5 points, or 0.21%, at 08: 00 ET. Nasdaq 100 E-minis were down 57 points, or 0.16%, while Dow E-minis were down 27 points, or 0.17%.
The simultaneous expiration of stocks options, futures index and index options contracts later in the day, also known as triple witching, is also expected to cause volatility throughout the trading session.
While the phenomenon is not new, new growth in options trading volumes and the increase in awareness of this dynamic has resulted in higher volatility during expirations this year.
All three small weekly indexes were headed for major gains. , but they were also trading lower to the month due to seasonally weaker trends in September.
Monthly losses in the Nasdaq were the least as investors had initially shifted to sectors more resilient to economic disruptions from the pandemic. However, this trade will unwind in the coming weeks.
Among other managers, the stock rose 5.2% before the bell on reports that the investment management firm had made talks to merge with the rival in the SME company State Street Corp's asset management business.